Blackburn Rovers will host Middlesbrough at Ewood Park on Friday in another round of the 2024-25 EFL Championship campaign. The home side have lost their way in recent weeks as they struggle to adjust to life under new boss Valerien Ismael and have now dropped down to 11th in the Championship with 52 points.
They suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat away at Portsmouth in their game at the weekend, failing to create any noteworthy chances to get on the scoresheet as they recorded their first defeat of Pompey since 2008.
Middlesbrough, meanwhile, have profited from their opponents' recent struggles and are back in contention for the promotion playoffs with seven games left to play in the regular season. They picked up a 2-1 comeback win over Oxford United in their last match, heading into the break a goal down before goals from Kelechi Iheanacho and Neto Borges helped Boro secure maximum points.
The visitors now sit seventh in the league table with 57 points. They are level on points with West Bromwich Albion in the last playoff spot and could leapfrog them with a win on Friday.
Blackburn Rovers vs Middlesbrough Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- There have been 145 meetings between Blackburn and Middlesbrough. The home side have won 65 of those games while the visitors have won 40 times, with their other 40 contests ending in draws.
- The hosts are undefeated in their last four games in this fixture and have lost just one of their last 12.
- Boro have failed to score any goals in their last three games in this fixture.
- The Riversiders have scored 42 goals in the Championship this season, the fewest of any team in the top half of the pile.
Blackburn Rovers vs Middlesbrough Prediction
Blackburn are on a four-game losing streak and have won just two of their last 10 games across all competitions. They have won just one of their last four home matches and will have their work cut out this weekend.
Middlesbrough have won two of their last three games and have lost just one of their last six. They have struggled for results on the road of late but should have just enough to win here.
Prediction: Blackburn Rovers 0-1 Middlesbrough
Blackburn Rovers vs Middlesbrough Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Middlesbrough to win
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Under 2.5 goals (Three of the last four matches between the two teams have produced fewer than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: NO (Both sides have found the back of the net in just one of their last four matchups)