Rovers have been handed German and Portuguese opposition in their inaugural Premier League international Cup campaign.

The club accepted their invitation in to the competition which began in 2014/15 and have been drawn alongside Hertha Berlin and Benfica as well as Newcastle United in Group C.

The format sees six groups of four, made up of two English and two overseas teams. Teams play each other once, with the six group winners, and two best runners-up, qualifying for the quarter finals.

All games will be played in England, with Rovers playing two at home and then travelling to Newcastle in their third group match. Dates are yet to be set for the three fixtures.

Twelve Category One clubs have been invited to be involved alongside 12 other sides from across Europe.

Rovers finished fifth in Premier League 2 last season after winning the Division Two title 12 months earlier. They are currently on the look-out for a new manager following Damien Johnson’s promotion to the first-team set-up and hope to have a new man in place before the new Under-23s season gets under way on Monday, August 12.

Rovers fixtures:

  • Blackburn Rovers v Hertha BSC

  • Blackburn Rovers v SL Benfica

  • Newcastle United v Blackburn Rovers

 

Games must be played by January 13 2020.

 

The clubs in the other groups are as follows:-

  • Group A – Arsenal, Leicester City, GNK Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) & Villarreal CF (Spain)
  • Group B – Brighton & Hove Albion, West Ham United, Valencia CF (Spain) & VfL Wolfsburg (Germany)
  • Group D – Everton, Swansea City, FC Porto (Portugal) & PSV Eindhoven (Holland)
  • Group E – Liverpool, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Athletic Club Bilbao (Spain) & Paris Saint-Germain (France)
  • Group F – Derby County, Southampton, AS Monaco (France) & Feyenoord Rotterdam (Holland)