Tony Mowbray’s Rovers will lock horns with Wigan Athletic for a seventh time in little over three years on Saturday – and the Ewood boss is under no illusions as to the test his side will face.

Wigan have become one of the division’s form teams, taking 21 points from the last 30 available to ease their relegation fears, and re-started their season with a 2-0 win at Huddersfield.

The two teams were relegated together from the Championship in 2016/17, before being promoted back from League One as they finished as champions and runners-up in 2017/18.

Rovers are all set to finish above the Latics for a second successive season, but another tight encounter is expected at the DW Stadium this weekend.

While Rovers have edged the Ewood meetings under Mowbray, winning two and drawing twice, they were beaten 3-1 away last season, as well as drawing 0-0 in their League One meeting.

The incentive for Rovers is knowing that victory on the road could move them in to the top six, and while they have home tests against top two Leeds United and West Brom to come, Mowbray isn’t looking beyond away games at Wigan and Barnsley who won at the weekend as they look to launch something of a great escape mission.

“We just have to take each one as it comes, we talked about starting well which we did,” Mowbray said of the Bristol City win.

“There’s no easy game, two tough games to come, Wigan and Barnsley also both won.

“We’ve been on a journey with Wigan for the last three years, down to League One and then back to the Championship, the journey continues.

“We know good they are, we know Cooky has good teams and that’s going to be a tough ask for us.

“Barnsley are like Norwich, they’re such a lovely football team but just don’t seem to be able to win. Barnsley must be shaking their heads at how they find themselves at the bottom with such talented build-up play.

“They’re games we can win, but also lose, and we’ll have to get it right, and then it’s Leeds United, the next challenge at Ewood.

“It would be great to find ourselves going in to that game with everything to play for.”