Blackburn Rovers vs Portsmouth Prediction: Bishop can penetrate holey defence

Blackburn Rovers recovered from three defeats on the spin without a goal to secure an impressive 3-1 away win over Cardiff before the international break, and that gave John Eustace’s side a bump back towards the play-off places. They will certainly fancy their chances of boosting their strong home record when they take on a struggling Portsmouth outfit, at 15:00 on Saturday afternoon. 

Pompey are mired in relegation danger but they managed to gain a big win over Preston North End before the break that dragged them off the foot of the table. Below you can find my Blackburn Rovers vs Portsmouth prediction featuring betting tips and team news. 

Team News

Having put in one of their best performances of the season before the break, Eustace is likely to want to keep things as settled as possible heading into this clash. Andreas Weimann was the star of the show with two goals and looks to have now forced his way into the XI and he is likely to feature alongside Ryan Hedges and Todd Cantwell. 

Cantwell has admitted he has been playing through illness lately, which is remarkable given the sparkling form the former Norwich man has been in. That trio will likely start behind Yuki Ohashi, who is currently preferred to Makhtar Gueye while Eustace also has the luxury of a fully-fit squad right now. 

It means the settled back four should continue, with Callum Brittain currently getting the nod at right-back which means Joe Rankin-Costello will have to settle for a place on the bench. Harry Pickering is having another strong season at left-back while Danny Batth and Dom Hyam make up an experienced centre-back partnership. 

Terry Devlin has been a revelation at right-back for Portsmouth of late, having been completely left out of the squad on a regular basis earlier in the season. He could team up with the experienced Matt Ritchie on the right-hand side, as John Mousinho looks to build on that 3-1 win over Preston. 

The big story though came as last season’s top scorer, Colby Bishop, returned after heart surgery and found the net on his first appearance of the season. He will be a major boost for Pompey and should make his first start if his fitness is up to it.

Blackburn Rovers vs Portsmouth Odds

Blackburn are priced at 8/13 to win this game, which gives them an implied win probability of 61%. Portsmouth are priced at 18/5, a draw is 13/5 and over 2.5 goals is available at 4/5. BTTS can be backed at 4/5 while Ohashi is the favourite to open the scoring at 9/2.

Portsmouth to win @ 18/5

I’ve been impressed with Blackburn this season, but their recent home results have given me cause for concern. A 2-0 loss to Sheffield United ended their unbeaten run at Ewood Park, but they then followed it up with another 2-0 defeat to Stoke City. 

After four games in a row without a goal, they put Cardiff to the sword last time out, but given the Bluebirds’ drop off in form over the past couple of weeks, it remains to be seen how impressive a result that will turn out to be. 

I don’t particularly want to bash Blackburn here, but I also don’t believe they should be as short as 8/13 to win this game. In fact, for my first selection I’m going to back Portsmouth to come away with the three points, given Rovers have lost their spark at home of late. 

I also think that Mousinho is starting to find his feet in the second tier, and that win over PNE will have done his team the world of good. We also have to consider the return of their main man Bishop, but more on him later. For now, let’s go for a surprise away win at big odds. 

Colby Bishop to score anytime @ 13/5

Kusini Yengi scored twice for Australia against Bahrain in midweek and given his international exploits and travellling, I think Bishop is in line for a start at Ewood Park. He scored off the bench against PNE and I feel he could make a major impression on their season. 

Bishop bagged 21 goals in League 1 last season and Pompey’s attack was heavily geared towards him finding the net. Mousinho will be delighted to have him back and I think we could see a more dangerous Portsmouth side with him leading the line. After a lengthy absence, I think we are getting good value on Bishop to find the net here. 

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