As Rovers return to Championship action this weekend, a look at the pre-match talking points ahead of Luton Town’s visit.

 

WHO WILL HAVE THE BALL?

Only one team in the division has had less possession than Luton Town (42 per cent). That team is Rovers (39 per cent). That has been a stark contrast from last season for Tony Mowbray’s side who enjoyed the third highest statistics in the league last season.

“I’d rather be sat here with less possession and three points than a shed load of possession and zero puntos,” said Hatters boss Nathan Jones after their win at Barnsley last month.

It’s unlikely that Rovers will be at the bottom of the standings for long, context needs to be added given away games at Millwall and Middlesbrough that were not conducive to possession football, while their opening game was against a Swansea City who have the highest percentage in the division (62).

Against West Bromwich Albion too, the game didn’t lend itself to playing passing football, when the ball wasn’t out of play and being dried by towels, that was.

So it will be expected on Saturday that Rovers look to dominate the ball, they have the players to do so, even though their options may be down on last season.

With the prospect of Buckley, Clarkson, Rothwell and Poveda all on the pitch at the same time, Rovers will want to give them the ball as much as possible, and don’t be surprised to see the well-drilled Hatters allow them to have it.

It will then pose the question to Rovers as to whether they have the quality to open them up.

 

WILL ROVERS MATCH UP?

It has been a struggle of Rovers’ for some time when facing teams who play a back three.

They faced it against Millwall and Middlesbrough and despite starting with a four-man defence, they switched at half time in both having struggled to contain the opposition’s wing-backs.

Mowbray has opened up the prospect of Rovers operating with a wing-back system, particularly given the arrivals in the transfer window.

Jan Paul van Hecke offers a ball-playing option from central defence, while Tayo Edun adds a wing-back option on the left,but that will likely have to wait due to their respective fitness concerns.

With Hayden Carter suspended following his red card at Middlesbrough, unless Tyler Magloire is drafted in as a third centre half, it is more likely that Rovers will have to find a way through Luton, and hold out against their threat, with their more usual 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 system.

 

DOING WITHOUT DIAZ

Rovers will return from the international break without their Chilean international despite him not going away on international duty. Are you following?

Having not allowed Brereton to link up with Chile for their three World Cup qualifiers owing to quarantine concerns upon his return, FIFA look set to impose a five-day sanction on Brereton that will see him miss their first two games back.

Brereton has started the season in fine form, three goals in the opening five games, and looks well set to improve on last year’s tally of seven.

The goalscoring mantle will therefore fall on the shoulders of Sam Gallagher who netted his second with a thunderbolt against Middlesbrough.

Supplementing him, Poveda would be expected to make his home debut, while Tyrhys Dolan will hope for his opportunity to return to the side, with Reda Khadra having lacked game-time over the summer and unlikely to feature just yet.

With no new striker through the door, Gallagher will hope this is his time as the No.9 long-term.

 

HOME COMFORTS

An opening day win over Swansea City has been followed by defeats to Morecambe in the Carabao Cup and then to West Brom.

The hope will be that three home games in their next four can help see fortunes turn at Ewood where Rovers struggled for consistency last term with nine wins from their 23 home games.

The visit of Luton is followed by Hull City’s arrival on Tuesday and then Cardiff City are in town on Saturday, September 25 before Rovers head into the break with back-to-back away trips at Huddersfield Town (September 28) and Blackpool (October 2), with a game against Barnsley coming on Saturday, September 18.

Rovers won the corresponding fixtures with Luton and Barnsley last season, as well as drawing with Cardiff. They also beat Hull City 3-0 in their previous two meetings at Ewood so will hoping for a similar haul of points this time around.