Stoke City vs Blackburn Rovers Prediction, preview, team news and more | EFL Championship 2020-21

Stoke City are back in home comforts at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday, as they host Blackburn Rovers in the EFL Championship.

Just two points separate these two sides in the standings at the moment, with Blackburn two points (and three places) below Stoke in the table.

The hosts are winless in their last three games in the Championship. Coach Michael O'Neill will be desperate for the Potters to arrest their slide and get back to winning ways.

In their last two games, Stoke have played out goalless draws against Derby County and Queens Park Rangers.

“We are disappointed we couldn’t quite win the game, to be honest."#SCFC 🔴⚪️

— Stoke City FC (@stokecity) December 15, 2020

Blackburn arrested their own three-game winless run in their last game, with an excellent 2-1 win over Rotherham United.

Liverpool loanee Harvey Elliott has been impressive for Blackburn in recent times, with coach Tony Mowbray sounding his praise for the 17-year-old.

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Stoke City vs Blackburn Rovers Head-to-Head

Blackburn Rovers have won 44 out of 96 previous games against Stoke City, while losing 36 of those matches. They have also played out 16 draws against each other.

Stoke City form guide: D-D-L-W-W

Blackburn Rovers form guide: W-L-L-D-W

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Stoke City vs Blackburn Rovers Team News

Stoke have a plethora of injury problems to deal with at the moment, with the worst being a knee injury for Tyrese Campbell. He has a knee injury, which is expected to keep him out for the rest of the season.

In addition, there are also problems for Sam Clucas, Angus Gunn and Joe Allen, which will rule them out of this fixture.

Injured: Tyrese Campbell, Sam Clucas, Lee Gregory, Angus Gunn, Adam Davies, Joe Allen

Suspended: None

Joe Rankin-Costello, Scott Wharton, Ben Brereton, and Corry Evans are all expected to miss out with various injury problems. Centre-back Darragh Lenighan will once again be available for selection in this game, after serving a suspension.

🤕 Tony Mowbray has revealed that Derrick Williams will miss this weekend's trip to Stoke City and is set for an extended spell on the sidelines.#Rovers 🔵⚪️ https://t.co/m9SCaORgt7

— Blackburn Rovers (@Rovers) December 17, 2020

Injured: Derrick Williams, Joe Rankin-Costello, Elliott Bennett, Ben Brereton, Corry Evans

Suspended: None

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Stoke City vs Blackburn Rovers Predicted XI

Stoke City predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Josef Bursik; Tommy Smith, Harry Souttar, James Chester, Morgan Fox; Tashan Oakley-Boothe, Jordan Thompson; Tom Ince, Nick Powell, James McClean; Sam Vokes

Blackburn Rovers predicted XI (4-3-3): Thomas Kaminski; Ryan Nyambe, Darragh Lenihan, Daniel Ayala, Ben Douglas; Lewis Holtby, Bradley Johnson, Joe Rothwell; Tyrhys Dolan, Adam Armstrong, Harvey Elliott

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Stoke City vs Blackburn Rovers Prediction

Stoke have been struggling to score goals in recent games, and that could be where they get beaten by Blackburn, who have the maverick ability of Elliott to rely upon.

We believe Blackburn Rovers will emerge as the winners away from home.

Prediction: Stoke City 0-1 Blackburn Rovers