Three talking points ahead of the visit of near neighbours Preston North End.

 

RECENT HISTORY

Scrolling through recent results against North End doesn’t make pretty reading for Rovers supporters.

Going further back, the sides have met 100 times in the league, Preston coming out on top in 42 of them, Rovers 30 while the remaining 28 have ended in draws.

Rovers secured promotion back to the Premier League with victory at Deepdale courtesy of Matt Jansen on that famous May night in 2001, but since then it’s been something of a struggle against their near neighbours.

Paul Lambert won his first match in charge away to Preston in November 2015, courtesy of a Jordan Pickford own goal and Jordan Rhodes strike, but they have won just one of the next nine fixtures.

The biggest shame that fans weren’t there to witness the one-sided, comprehensive win in November 2020, topped off by a Tyrhys Dolan backflip in the 3-0 success.

Yet a 2-1 defeat at Ewood on a freezing February night meant North End are unbeaten in their previous five visits, with two wins and three draws.

This will be the first game between the sides since January 2020 with fans, yet sales updates from the visitors suggest it will be the lower tier of the Darwen End, rather than the whole 7,000 that will be filled.

The £30 pricing, recent results as well as the general mood around the club, are all contributing factors.

Both lost away at Blackpool within three weeks of each other so will be eager to put things right in the latest meeting of Lancashire’s Championship sides.

 

TEAM SELECTION

The injury to Thomas Kaminski would represent a big blow to Rovers given the Belgian’s consistency but also an opportunity for Aynsley Pears.

The No.2 is on standby to start his first league game since October 2020 and first competitive match since January.

He is coming off the back of an outing for the Under-23s last week which seems even more opportune given the events at the bet365 Stadium where he was thrust into the action for the final half an hour.

Daniel Ayala missed the Stoke City win with a minor ankle injury while Tyrhys Dolan was deemed only fit enough for the bench after taking several knocks in the Peterborough United win.

Joe Rothwell did likewise, and hobbled off in the closing stages at Stoke but fears have been allayed over any immediate concern with the midfielder, while Mowbray will hope to have Sam Gallagher available once again, a player who has had recent success against North End, albeit in the away fixtures.

Those factors present Mowbray with some intriguing decisions but given its success in recent matches, it is expected that he will stick with the three-man defence.

 

WELCOME DECEMBER

Rovers have enjoyed strong runs of form in recent Novembers, with 33 points from a possible 45 in the last three seasons.

This time around, after eight points in August and September, plus seven in October, Rovers added 10 to their tally in the month of November.

However, they have managed only 22 from a possible 60 in their three December runs since promotion from League One, but this month is a far from congested one.

Indeed, Rovers have at least seven days between each fixture up to Boxing Day before the game with Barnsley on December 29 to sign off 2021.

The North End game is the start of four home games in their next six, with trips to Bournemouth (December 11) and Hull City (December 26) inbetween Ewood games with Birmingham City (December 18) and Barnsley (December 29) and then the January 2 visit of Huddersfield Town.

With six wins at Ewood already to their name, Rovers will be hopeful of a good haul of points to maintain their strong position in the league and avoid any end of year downturn.