Blackburn's fixtures compared with eight relegation rivals

John Eustace's side have a three-point buffer and nine games to ensure they retain their second-tier status for next season. With only five points separating nine teams, there will be plenty of drama in the next seven weeks.

We're at the stage of the season where the fixtures are being ticked off and suddenly, it's crunch time. Every point matters and the fixture list begins to get scrutinised.

READ MORE: Eustace looking for Rovers solution in 'light' area

So, which teams have the best fixtures coming up? The Lancashire Telegraph takes a look.

Swansea City, 15th, 43 points

Cardiff City (H)

Sheffield Wednesday (A)

Queens Park Rangers (H)

Middlesbrough (A)

Stoke City (H)

Swansea's upcoming run does not strike fear into anyone. The Welsh derby is an occasion of its own, where form tends to go out of the window.

Trips to Sheffield Wednesday and hosting QPR could have their Championship survival wrapped up. Equally, welcoming Stoke to South Wales is a good opportunity for points as well. Middlesbrough are up and down so you can probably expect Luke Williams' side to pull clear.

Millwall, 16th, 43 points

Leeds United (A)

West Brom (H)

Rotherham United (A)

Huddersfield Town (A)

Leicester City (H)

Millwall's season has flipped after 10 points in four games since Neil Harris came into the club. They have picked up some big results to give them a chance of staying up.

They have some tough matches coming up with two winnable games sandwiched in the middle, albeit away from home. Their results in Yorkshire will probably dictate how soundly they're sleeping come May.

Plymouth Argyle, 17th, 41 points

Preston North End (H)

Norwich City (A)

Bristol City (H)

Rotherham United (A)

Queens Park Rangers (H)

Some winnable fixtures are coming up for Green Army, with only two matches against top-half teams. Norwich away is the only really tough assignment.

They will be targeting wins in crucial six-pointers against Rotherham and Queens Park Rangers at the end of this run. Preston and Bristol City are not the worst home fixtures either.

Blackburn Rovers, 18th, 41 points

Middlesbrough (A)

Ipswich Town (H)

Sunderland (A)

Southampton (H)

Bristol City (A)

Things are about to get tougher for Rovers with Ipswich and Southampton in their next five. All three away games are against middling teams, where you don't really know what to expect from them game-to-game.

It is plausible they could collect points in those matches but their away form has been rubbish in 2023 too. They might have to spring a surprise or two.

Stoke City, 19th, 41 points

Norwich City (H)

Hull City (A)

Huddersfield Town (H)

West Brom (H)

Swansea City (A)

The Potters will be delighted with back-to-back wins which could be the catalyst to save their season. They do have fifth and sixth coming up in their next five but they're both at home.

Hull are also in the chasing pack for the play-offs and so won't be easy. The games against Huddersfield and at Swansea could be decisive.

Queens Park Rangers, 20th, 39 points

Sunderland (A)

Birmingham City (H)

Swansea City (A)

Sheffield Wednesday (H)

Plymouth Argyle (A)

QPR have a real opportunity to put their destiny in their own hands with four of their next five against teams battling against the drop. Sunderland themselves are not in the best form too.

Home games with Birmingham and Sheffield Wednesday will be massive in defining QPR's hopes of staying up. Trips to Swansea and Plymouth could yield points too. They have the best run coming up.

Birmingham City, 21st, 39 points

Middlesbrough (H)

Watford (H)

Queens Park Rangers (A)

Preston North End (H)

Leicester City (A)

Birmingham have three winnable home games coming up, starting with their game in hand on Tuesday night against Middlesbrough. Watford are out of form with Valerien Ismael now sacked and Preston could be out of the play-off race by the time they visit St Andrew's too.

The trip to QPR will also be decisive for Blues, who are still without Tony Mowbray in the dug out. Their form hasn't been great but this run of games is favourable for them to get points on the board.

Huddersfield Town, 22nd, 38 points

Rotherham United (A)

Coventry City (H)

Stoke City (A)

Millwall (H)

Preston North End (A)

The Terriers dropped into the bottom three over the weekend after Stoke won and they were beaten by West Brom. Before the international break, they have a must-win game against Rotherham United.

Andre Breitenwreiter will also be targeting points at Stoke and at home to Millwall, with tougher assignments against Coventry and Preston mixed in. In truth, their run will probably be dictated by what happens on Saturday against Rotherham.

Sheffield Wednesday, 23rd, 38 points

Ipswich Town (A)

Swansea City (H)

Middlesbrough (A)

Queens Park Rangers (A)

Norwich City (H)

The Owls had won four in a row before losing to Leeds United. Their upcoming run of games is not the easiest though. Ipswich are a real force at Portman Road whilst Norwich are also chasing the top-six.

The big matches are at home to Swansea and away at QPR. Middlesbrough can be hit and miss too so it's hard to know what to expect from them week-to-week. 

VERDICT

From the next five fixtures, it's clear that Plymouth and QPR have the nicest-looking game, on paper. They face only one team in the top six between them and have winnable matches at home to boost their survival chances.

Blackburn and Sheffield Wednesday's matches look the toughest. Rovers' issue is their most winnable games are away from home, where they have particularly struggled in 2024. Wednesday have difficult games but also a couple of winnable ones too.

Millwall's games rest on their doubleheader with Rotherham and Huddersfield. With so many teams bunched together, there are bound to be lots of twists and turns.