Burnley vs Blackburn Prediction: Rovers to break barren run in East Lancashire derby

Hostilities are renewed in the East Lancashire derby on Saturday (12:30, Sky Sports Main Event) when Burnley and Blackburn Rovers lock horns at Turf Moor. The sides haven't faced off since April 2023 owing to the Clarets' promotion to the Premier League in the same year, but after suffering relegation back to the EFL Championship, this north-west rivalry is back in business.

Read below for my Burnley vs Blackburn prediction, alongside all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of Saturday's lunchtime kick-off.

Team News

Burnley have a long list of injury absentees ahead of the weekend with Aaron Ramsey, Nathan Redmond, Jordan Beyer, Hannes Delcroix, Hjalmar Ekdal and Mike Tresor all ruled out.

There are also doubts over Josh Cullen and Luca Koleosho after the duo missed Wednesday's 2-0 Carabao Cup defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Football Odds

Blackburn head coach John Eustace is likely to revert to the line-up that started last weekend's 2-1 victory over Oxford United, though Makhtar Gueye and Arnor Sigurdsson did their chances of starting no harm by combining for the latter's winner against the U's, while the former struck from the penalty spot on Tuesday as Rovers crashed out of the Carabao Cup 2-1 to Blackpool.

However, Yuki Ohashi looks likely to lead the line after netting in his first three appearances at the club, and the Japanese forward should be supported by Tyrhys Dolan and Ryan Hedges.

Scott Wharton and Harry Leonard miss out again through injury.

Burnley vs Blackburn Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Burnley vs Blackburn page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Burnley are 8/11 to get back to winning ways on Saturday, giving them an implied win probability of 57.8%, while Blackburn are 3/1, or a 25% chance, to end the Clarets' dominance in this fixture and get their first head-to-head victory since March 2010 when a David Dunn penalty was the difference between the sides.

A first draw between the two since September 2013 can be backed at 5/2 and both teams to score is priced at 4/6.

Bet Builder - Both Teams to Score - Yes, Lewis Travis Carded, Over 2.5 Blackburn Corners @ 4/1

There are three legs in this bet builder, which can be selected via the '#PickYourPunt' tab on the Burnley vs Blackburn odds homepage.

Firstly, I'm backing both teams to score, which hasn't actually happened in this fixture since Burnley beat Blackburn 2-1 at Ewood Park in March 2014. There have been five games since, all won by Burnley to nil, with Blackburn in the shadow of their bitter rivals for some time now.

However, Rovers have enjoyed an encouraging start to the current season, and even a Carabao Cup exit to Blackpool on Tuesday hasn't dented optimism. In the Championship, Eustace's side are unbeaten in three games, beating Derby County (4-2) and Oxford United (2-1) at home either side of a 2-2 draw away to Norwich City. A 6-1 victory at Stockport County in the Carabao Cup first round earlier this month was another highlight, meaning they have scored in all five matches, and 15 overall - averaging three per game.

Rovers are yet to keep a clean sheet, however - a worrying statistic considering Saturday's hosts hit four past Luton Town and five past Cardiff in their first two league fixtures, though Burnley did blank in defeats to Sunderland and Wolves.

I think it's about time the BTTS - Yes curse ends in this fixture, with two nervy defences and promising forward lines combining to make it an entertaining contest on Saturday.

Secondly, I'm selecting Blackburn's midfield enforcer Lewis Travis to be carded. The 26-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan at runners-up Ipswich Town but returned to the club over the summer and has played an integral role in Rovers' early-season form, playing the duration of all three Championship matches so far.

He has been in the thick of the action, picking up a yellow card against Norwich and Oxford United in typical Travis fashion. Rovers' number 29 saw yellow 10 times in the Championship last season - seven times for his parent club and three times for the Tractor Boys - and he has recorded that exact number for the last three league campaigns running.

Travis was booked in the first half of Blackburn's last trip to Turf Moor in April 2023 and is sure to be putting himself about on Saturday.

Finally, to up the odds to 4/1, we can add in at least three corners for the visitors, who won four corners at Norwich and seven last time out in the league against Oxford United.

Burnley, meanwhile, conceded five corner kicks to Luton, five to Cardiff and three to Sunderland. Rovers have won over 2.5 corners in their last eight head-to-heads with the Clarets and looks well set to get at least three on Saturday.

Anytime Scorer - Josh Brownhill @ 18/5

This selection comes with the caveat that Burnley captain Josh Brownhill has been linked with a move away from the Clarets, with clubs in England and further afield reportedly interested in the 28-year-old's services.

However, at the time of writing, Brownhill is still a Burnley player, and he played the first half of Wednesday's cup defeat. Unless something firm crops up before Saturday, I expect Parker to name his skipper in Saturday's starting XI.

Brownhill made a fantastic start to the season, scoring in each of Burnley's first two Championship matches, a 4-1 win at Luton Town and a 5-0 thrashing of Cardiff City at Turf Moor. The former Bristol City man failed to score in a third-straight game as Sunderland shut out the Clarets in a 1-0 victory for the Black Cats last Saturday, but an East Lancashire derby at home on Saturday presents the perfect opportunity to get back in the goalscoring groove.

The Warrington-born midfielder has been a valuable source of goals for Burnley in the last couple of seasons after scoring just twice in the league in his first two-and-a-half seasons at the club. Brownhill struck seven times in the 2022/23 Championship campaign to help inspire the Clarets to win the title, while he found the net on four occasions last season despite his side's struggles in the Premier League.

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