Coventry City travel to Blackburn on Saturday afternoon to take on a Rovers side who will be looking to cement their place in the Championship for next season.
Meet Rovers:
Blackburn currently sit three points above the drop with two games remaining in the Championship this season.
Four wins in their previous 23 games has seen Rovers drawn into a relegation battle, a stark comparison to last season, when they were fighting for a place in the play-offs on the final day of the season.
Sammie Szmodics has led the charge for John Eustace’s side this season, scoring 30 goals in all competitions, 25 of those in the Championship, five more than anyone else.
Defeat last time out to Sheffield Wednesday means three points separate Blackburn and Birmingham, who occupy the final relegation spot.
Mark Robins pre-match thoughts:
“Everyone is proud of parts of things, but ultimately, we will be disappointed. When we look back at things when we get time, it will change from then on.
“When you have been high achievers for a long time and you get to a stage like that, you know it’s going to be tough and it’s a tough ask.
“The number of the games we’ve had to play in a short amount of time is always a big ask, at the levels we’ve been asked to play at.
“I was really proud of them the other night in terms of the levels they were able to reach, and I was surprised we was able to get to those levels, they gave everything.
“If you give everything at any stage it stands you in good stead and they’ve been through a tough period and a mentally tough period as well.
“When we reflect at the end of the season, we can look back and start to look at what we’ve done and what they’ve done and how we’ve been improved and how we go again next season.”
John Eustace pre-match thoughts:
“They certainly didn’t deserve to lose the game.
“We’re playing against a very good Coventry team with a very good squad. We’re looking forward to the challenge against a really top team.
“They have a fantastic squad, a big squad with good Championship players, so we’re not expecting anything less than a really good Coventry team coming to Ewood Park.
“We want to play and show everyone what we’re all about, because the game on Saturday is about us and nobody else. We’re going to enjoy the challenge.
“It’s a great club, I was there for seven years and played in the Premier League for a couple of seasons.”
Sky Blues' last six:
- Sky Blues 2-3 Hull City
- Sky Blues 3-3 (P) Manchester United
- Birmingham City 3-0 Sky Blues
- Southampton 2-1 Sky Blues
- Sky Blues 2-1 Leeds United
- Sky Blues 1-2 Cardiff City
Blackburn Rovers’ last six:
- Blackburn Rovers 1-3 Sheffield Wednesday
- Leeds United 0-1 Blackburn Rovers
- Bristol City 5-0 Blackburn Rovers
- Blackburn Rovers 0-0 Southampton
- Sunderland 1-5 Blackburn Rovers
- Blackburn Rovers 0-1 Ipswich Town
Head-to-Head:
Blackburn Rovers wins: 15
Draws: 10
Coventry City wins: 19
Officials:
Anthony Backhouse will be the man in the middle of our Sky Bet Championship fixture against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.
It will be the third time this season that Backhouse will take charge of a Sky Blues fixture, with his last outing coming during the 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday back in January.
So far this campaign, Anthony has issued 102 yellow cards and 1 red card across the Carabao Cup, FA Cup, League Two, League One and Championship.
Backhouse will be assisted by Craig Taylor and Shaun Hudson, whilst Geoff Eltringham will act as fourth official.
Ticket information:
Coventry City had an allocation of 4,339 tickets in the Lower Tier of the Bryan Douglas Darwen End for this fixture - this has now sold-out, and we will not be receiving any more tickets.
