Blackburn vs Preston Prediction: Rovers can edge Lancashire derby

Friday Night Football this week comes from the Championship where Blackburn Rovers host Preston North End in a Lancashire derby. It’s 10th vs 6th, and below we have previewed the clash and given a couple of betting tips for you to consider.

Team News

Scott Wharton has had his red card against Norwich City overturned, which means he is available to play on Friday night. Lewis Travis also came off the bench in that game so is available to start in a major boost to Jon Dahl Tomasson. 

Calvin Ramsay is now back training with Preston having recovered from his injury with parent club Liverpool and manager Ryan Lowe may also be able to welcome Andrew Hughes back into the fold. 

Match Odds

Blackburn Rovers are 19/20 to win this match, while a draw is available at 5/2. Preston North End are 11/4 to win, BTTS is 4/6 and over 2.5 goals is 4/5.

Blackburn to win @ 19/20

Blackburn Rovers put in a terrific display to go 3-0 up against Norwich City, and only a wrongly-awarded red card prevented them from truly running riot at Carrow Road. Jon Dahl Tomasson has got his side playing some terrific football, and they’ve now won four of their last five league games. 

Preston ended a run of seven games without a win by beating Coventry City 3-2 at Deepdale, but they were handed an incredibly soft penalty and still only narrowly beat a severely out of form team. Despite the current standings, I believe Blackburn on paper are far superior, and should be able to take all three points here. 

Sammie Szmodics to score first @ 5/1

The top scorer in the Championship isn’t Kelechi Iheadnacho, Jamie Vardy or Georginio Rutter. Instead, it is Blackburn’s attacking midfielder Sammie Szmodics who leads the way, with nine goals to his name in 15 appearances. 

Without a number nine, JDT has instead chosen to play Szmodics up front, supported by the likes of Tyrhys Dolan and Joe Rankin-Costello. As a false nine, Szmodics has been able to cause chaos, as opposition defences struggle to pick up his clever runs - while his finishing ability has gone to the next level this season. The 5/1 on offer for him to score first is incredibly generous, given what we have seen from him so far this season. 

Check out our other Football Betting Tips here.