BLACKBURN Rovers welcome back Alex Baptiste, Matt Kilgallon and Chris Taylor for this afternoon’s final pre-season friendly at home to Mark Hughes’ Premier League outfit Stoke City.
Defenders Kilgallon and Baptiste go straight back into Gary Bowyer’s starting line-up while midfielder Taylor, who also missed the midweek 1-1 draw at Bury, is included among the substitutes.
But Rovers boss Bowyer is still without winger Ben Marshall (ill) and strikers Rudy Gestede (ill) and Chris Brown (knee) as well as midfielder Lee Williamson, who serves a one-match ban following his sending off against Bury.
Stoke are managed by former Rovers player and boss Hughes.
And Hughes’ starting line-up includes three players who were previously on the books at Ewood Park – midfielder Steven N’Zonzi and strikers Mame Biram Diouf and Jonathan Walters.
Rovers: Robinson, Baptiste, Hanley, Kilgallon, Spurr, King, Lowe, Evans, Conway, Cairney, Rhodes. Subs: Kean, Taylor, Henley, Olsson, Dunn, Varney, Songo'o, O'Connell.
Stoke: Begovic, Bardsley, Shawcross, Huth, Muniesa, Arnautovic, N’Zonzi, Adam, Walters, Diouf, Crouch. Subs: Sorensen, Pieters, Whelan, Ireland, Wilson, Bojan, Ward.
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