Championship | Gameweek 40

Apr 4, 2025 at 8pm UK

Ewood Park

Blackburn vs Middlesbrough

Match preview

Boro have responded well to the adversity, losing just once in their last six league games after losing five in a row between 25 January and 21 February.

Having missed out on the play-offs by just four points last season, Michael Carrick's side will be determined to avoid a similar fate this time around, and they have been in fine form in the closing stages of the campaign.

One of the reasons Boro are challenging for promotion again is that they have been very impressive in front of goal this season, with their record of 59 goals only exceeded by Leeds United and Norwich City.

Victory over Oxford United last weekend saw Boro move level on points with West Brom, who suffered a late defeat at Norwich City.

Goals from Kelechi Iheanacho and Neto Borges helped Carrick's side come from 1-0 down to claim all three points after Michal Helik had put Oxford ahead.

The victory over Oxford was Boro's third home win on the bounce, but it was a different story for Carrick's side on the road.

The visitors have won just two of their eight league games away from home in 2025, with five of the other six ending in defeat for Middlebrough.

With the majority of their remaining Championship fixtures on the road, Boro will need to improve on their recent struggles away from home if they are to maintain their Premier League promotion push.

They travel to a Blackburn side who are themselves just five points adrift of the play-off zone and will be desperate to move within two points of Middlesbrough in the table with a win.

However, their season and promotion hopes are in serious jeopardy as they have failed to win any of their last six games, including all five under head coach Valerien Ismael.

Blackburn were in the play-off zone when Ismael was appointed as John Eustace's successor at Ewood Park, but their poor run of form has seen them slip to 11th in the table with just seven games remaining.

Under Ismael, Rovers have lost to Derby County, Stoke City, Cardiff City and, most recently, Portsmouth.

Those results have all helped their respective teams to stay in the Championship this season, but they could prove costly to Blackburn's promotion hopes.

Ismael admitted that his focus was on getting his first win in charge of his new club, but unsurprisingly, their collapse has already led to some fans voicing their displeasure with the performances under their new boss.

Rovers are unbeaten in their last four meetings with Middlesbrough and the visitors have not beaten their hosts since December 2022, when they won 2-1 at Ewood Park.

The two sides have already met twice this season, with the reverse fixture taking place at the Riverside in November before the two clubs met at the same venue for an FA Cup tie in January.

Blackburn were successful on both occasions, with Dominic Hyam scoring the only goal in the league meeting before Andreas Weimann netted the winner in the cup tie as Rovers won both games 1-0.

A repeat of those scorelines on Friday night would give the hosts some hope of promotion ahead of the final six games of the season.

A defeat, on the other hand, would all but seal their fate in terms of promotion this season and raise further questions about Ismael's ability and long-term future at the club, despite his recent arrival.

Recent Performance

Blackburn Rovers Championship form:LDLLLL

Middlesbrough Championship form:WWLWDW

Team News

Weimann, who scored the winner for Rovers when the two sides met in the third round of the FA Cup in January, is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.

The hosts will also be without Augustus Kargbo and Emmanuel Dennis, who are both out with hamstring problems.

Elsewhere, Callum Brittain (calf), Harry Leonard, Zak Gilsenan and Scott Wharton remain long-term absentees for Blackburn, while Harry Pickering remains a doubt for the game.

In a further blow to the home side, Owen Beck picked up a hamstring problem in last weekend's defeat at Portsmouth, while Hayden Carter picked up a calf injury at Hampshire and faces a late fitness test ahead of this clash.

Meanwhile, the visitors have a number of absentees, with goalkeepers Sol Brynn and Seny Dieng both sidelined.

In more bad news for Middlesbrough, Dael Fry (calf) and George Edmundson (ankle) are further doubts for the visitors, while Luke Ayling, Darragh Lenihan, Alex Bangura and Ben Doak are all out for the game.

Possible starting lineup

Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:

Pears; Ribeiro, Batth, Hyam, Carter; Travis, Tronstad, Cantwell, Dolan, Hedges; Gueye

Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:

Travers; Giles, Borges, Howson, Dijksteel; Hackney, Morris, Azaz; Iling-Junior, Burgzorg, Iheanacho