Derby vs Blackburn Prediction: Rovers to show Eustace what he’s missing

Derby County boss John Eustace is set for his first crack against his former employers Blackburn Rovers on Saturday (15:00) in the Championship, and he is braced to get an earful from the travelling supporters at Pride Park. Eustace joined the Rams on February 13 and his first three league games in charge have yielded no points or goals and they are currently rooted to the bottom of the table.

Blackburn are in much safer waters and are sat eighth in the standings, finding themselves outside the play-offs on goal difference. Read on for my Derby vs Blackburn vs Derby predictions, supported by the latest team news and match odds.

Derby vs Blackburn Odds

Derby are winless in their first three outings under their new boss and they haven't won at home in the Championship in any of the last six attempts. They are 9/5 to beat Eustace's old side on Saturday.

Blackburn's first game under Valerien Ismael ended in a 1-1 draw at home to Norwich City, with both goals in the game coming in the 90th minute and beyond. The draw is on offer at 21/10.

Rovers have won three of their last six games in the second tier and they are 13/8 (which has an implied probability of 38.1%) to add to Derby's woes, and get one over on their former head coach. The two sides met on the opening day of the season at Ewood Park in which Blackburn won 4-2.

At least one team has failed to score in each of Derby's previous four appearances in the Championship, and BTTS No is on offer at 4/5 (55.6%) on this occasion.

Former Rams attacker Andreas Weimann bagged Blackburn's equaliser against Norwich last time out and now has seven goals for the campaign. He is 11/4 to haunt his old side with a goal at Pride Park.

Football Odds

Team News

Derby have been given some personnel boosts in the build-up to this game as Matt Clarke, Nat Phillips and Kane Wilson are all in line to make their returns from injury. Phillips was an unused substitute against Middlesbrough last time out.

Corey Blackett-Taylor (hamstring) and Dajaune Brown (unspecified) remain unlikely to feature, while Curtis Nelson (knee) will not appear for the rest of the season.

Eustace may be tempted to name the XI that were narrowly beaten by Boro but recent addition Kemar Roofe will be hoping for an opportunity to showcase his talents in the final third. Lars-Jorgen Salvesen is another forward itching to play but for now, Jerry Yates seems to have Eustace's trust.

Rovers were boosted by the returns of Yuki Ohashi and Sondre Tronstad last week against Norwich, with both players making cameos from the bench. However, they will have to cope without forward Emmanuel Dennis in the East Midlands because of the suspension he picked up in that game.

Danny Batth (muscle), Harry Pickering (knee), Zak Gilsenan (muscle), Owen Beck (hamstring) and Scott Wharton (ACL) are all expected to miss out at the weekend.

Makhtar Gueye will look to retain his spot at the top end of the pitch, but Ismael could be tempted to name Weimann as the front man for his late heroics last week. We will likely see Augustus Kargbo, Todd Cantwell and Tyrhys Dolan continue in the other attacking positions. though.

Blackburn to win @ 13/8

Of all the games remaining in the season, Rovers fans want to win this game the most. They felt stabbed in the back by Eustace's switch to Derby. He constantly pushed the narrative of togetherness and despite both parties not being happy with the ownership situation at Blackburn, the fans trusted Eustace as a steward through some difficult times.

Images of inflatable snakes are being branded about on social media, so that is sure to add to the feisty atmosphere Saturday's game will bring. In terms of the match itself, Blackburn are in better shape than the Rams, who are yet to find the back of the net under Eustace.

The football gods will probably make it so this is the game in which they get that first goal, but I wouldn't be too worried if I was a Blackburn fan. I think they have better quality than their hosts and I am backing them to come away with an emotional three points in DE24.

With a full week on the training ground with his players, Ismael can better implement his ideas, which should help them to capitalise on Derby's current woes.

Under 2.5 goals @ 4/7

I think we will end up seeing a low-scoring affair in the East Midlands because Derby currently cannot score a goal to save their lives, and Blackburn are not the most prolific of teams in the division.

Under 2.5 goals has been a winning selection in five of the hosts' past six appearances in the Championship, including their previous two.

There have been less than three goals scored in three of Blackburn's last four outings in the second tier, too, so recent form points to a lack of goals in Pride Park on Saturday.

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