Bristol City vs Blackburn Rovers Prediction: Injury-hit Rovers set to struggle

Bristol City rescued a late point at Hillsborough as Ross McCrorie scored an 86th-minute equaliser in Yorkshire to level the scores at 2-2. Their next test as they push for the play-offs comes at home to Blackburn Rovers (15:00, Saturday), who are still in the top-six despite a ropey run of form. 

Blackburn lost 2-0 at home to Coventry in midweek and there is now a whole host of clubs on their tail ready to break into the play-offs. It means this test at Ashton Gate is a big one for their promotion hopes, and below you can find my Bristol City vs Blackburn Rovers prediction. 

Team News

Anis Mehmeti and Sam Bell are pushing to get into the Bristol City team having both done well off the bench in midweek. Scott Twine has been slightly off it for the last couple of weeks and could lose his place in the XI, while Yu Hirakawa was taken off after 52 minutes as the Robins struggled to assert themselves in the attacking third. 

Nahki Wells found the net again so is likely to keep his place up front, while Max Bird and Jason Knight are set to continue their midfield partnership. The back three of Luke McNally, Rob Dickie and Zak Vyner could remain unchanged, although George Tanner is pushing to win his place back in the team. Cameron Pring and Ayman Benarous are out until February, while Marcus McGuane could return after his concussion. 

Blackburn’s injury crisis is so bad it might be quicker to name the players that are fit, rather than the ones who aren’t. A whole first-choice XI are set to miss this game, including Ainsley Pears in goal, Danny Batth, Lewis Travis, Yuki Ohashi, Sondre Tronstad, Harry Pickering, Scott Wharton and Callum Brittain. Joe Rankin-Costello also picked up an issue late on and is likely to miss this weekend. 

"We're still waiting on a couple of the boys with Danny and Callum coming off. Joe is struggling after hurting his ankle, they've had their scans," Eustace said after the defeat. It means options are severely limited for the Rovers boss, with Makhtar Gueye likely to lead the line, with Todd Cantwell, Tyrhys Dolan and possibly Andres Weimann offering support. 

Up against his former club, Weimann may be reinstated to the starting XI with a point to prove, while Dion Sanderson is likely to replace Batth at the heart of the defence. It’s a case of trying to get a competitive XI on the field for Blackburn at the moment.

Bristol City vs Blackburn Rovers Odds

Bristol City are priced at 1/1 to win this game, giving them an implied win probability of 50%, while Rovers are out at 3/1 for the three points. Ashton Gate has been a decent home for City this season, as they’ve won six of their 13 league games there, while Eustace has seen his team win four games away from Ewood Park in 2024/25.

Over 2.5 goals have been scored in just 29% of Blackburn fixtures so far this season, the second-lowest toal in the division ahead of that stubborn Burnley side. That’s priced at 6/5 to come in on Saturday, while BTTS can be backed at 1/1. Wells is the favourite to open the scoring at 5/1, having scored six league goals this term. 

Bristol City to win to nil @ 2/1

Having realised the extent of Blackburn’s injuries, and the fact they were well-beaten by Coventry in midweek, I’m going to back the home side to win this game to nil. Rovers have lost their way with this raft of injuries, and suffered back-to-back defeats without scoring with that loss on Tuesday night. 

Although Gueye is a handful, his goalscoring record leaves a lot to be desired and Eustace now doesn’t have too many options to shake things up. Meanwhile, the Robins have not won in their last three in all competitions but they are unbeaten in their last five league games at Ashton Gate, winning four of those. I think all signs point towards a comfortable home success.

Nahki Wells to score anytime @ 2/1

I’m also going to pick out Wells to find a goal during the 90 mins. He scored his sixth goal of the season away at Sheffield Wednesday last time out, and I think he will lead the line again for this Bristol City side. Liam Manning seems to be a big fan of the experienced striker, and he has repaid that faith so far this term. 

I can see Blackburn getting penned in here and conceding a few goals, with Batth’s absence a big loss given the partnership he had built up with fellow centre-back Dom Hyam this term. Sanderson is a January arrival from Birmingham, and I think there is an obvious drop-off in both quality and experience with him coming into the back four. Wells is the man to take advantage of this injury-hit Rovers outfit. 

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