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Blackburn vs Derby Championship prediction: Rams return to second-tier football

Blackburn Rovers will be hoping for a better Championship campaign in 2024/25, starting with a positive result against promoted side Derby County. 

Blackburn vs Derby Championship prediction: Rams return to second-tier football

Blackburn vs Derby latest prediction

Betting tips

Blackburn 2-1 Derby (8/1 with Star Sports)

Although they didn’t play last season, this is a fixture that Blackburn have dominated. Rovers have won eight of their past 10 matches against Derby, including each of the past four. Both teams have scored in the past three.

James Collins to score anytime (9/4 with Sky Bet)

Sammie Szmodics will be the go-to choice, but he is doubtful. On the other side of this match, James Collins scored 14 goals in League One last season to help Derby gain promotion.

Blackburn to win by one goal (14/5 with 10bet)

Blackburn won 14 games in the Championship last season, with seven of those coming by a one-goal margin. Nine of their 21 defeats also came by just one goal.

After a disappointing campaign that saw Blackburn finish 19th, just three points above the relegation zone in 2023/24, fans will be hoping for a much better season. Following back-to-back finishes in the top eight, many pundits were tipping Rovers to be around the play-off picture again, but that was not the case as they struggled under Jon Dahl Tomasson.

In February, John Eustace was brought in to replace him and guided them to safety with impressive victories over Sunderland, Leeds United and Leicester City. However, too many draws meant they couldn’t progress any further up the table. This time around, in his first full season in charge, Eustace hopes to turn many of those draws into wins. But preparation has taken a bit of a knock with doubts surrounding Sammie Szmodics’ future.

Blackburn open their campaign against newly-promoted Derby County. The Rams finished as runners-up to Portsmouth in League One last season to secure their spot back in the Championship after two years away. It was a hard-fought three-way battle between themselves, Pompey and Bolton, but just one defeat and eight victories from their final 11 matches saw Derby get over the line without the agony of the play-offs.

Now that they’ve done the hard part, Paul Warne will be looking to keep them in the division and after some smart signings they are more than capable of doing so.

Blackburn host Derby at Ewood Park on Friday 9th August at 8pm.

Blackburn team news

Sammie Szmodics has missed Blackburn’s last three pre-season matches amid speculation of his future. According to reports, Blackburn have been in talks with Ipswich, but they are yet to agree a fee. So, the Irishman is a doubt for this game.

Blackburn have brought in six players including two strikers in Makhtar Gueye and Yuki Ohashi, as well as Andreas Weimann. Sam Gallagher is one of five players to leave.

Derby team news

Paul Warne has recruited seven new faces for the upcoming campaign to bolster his squad for the Championship. Ben Osborn, Corey Blackett-Taylor and Kayden Jackson have all joined on free transfers, while David Ozoh and Jerry Yates have arrived on loan from Crystal Palace and Swansea respectively.

Ebou Adams and Kenzo Goudmijn will be hoping to make the midfield spots their own, especially after the experienced Conor Hourihane and Louie Sibley departures.

Blackburn vs Derby head-to-head

Blackburn have a decent recent record in this fixture, winning eight and drawing one of the last 10 meetings between these two teams. Derby’s only victory during that period came back in 2020 when they secured a 3-0 home victory in the Championship.

Blackburn vs Derby H2H
Date Score Ground
15/03/22 Blackburn 3-1 Derby Ewood Park, Blackburn
16/04/21 Derby 1-2 Blackburn Pride Park, Derby
26/09/20 Blackburn 2-1 Derby Ewood Park, Blackburn
08/03/20 Derby 0-4 Blackburn Pride Park, Derby
07/12/19 Derby 3-0 Blackburn Pride Park, Derby
09/04/19 Blackburn 1-0 Derby Ewood Park, Blackburn

How to watch Blackburn vs Derby live

This game will be broadcast live on Friday 9th August at 8pm on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football.

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