Burnley vs. Blackburn

With 11 weeks remaining in the 2015-2016 season, The Football League Championship is quickly approaching its final stages.

A highly anticipated match in the 35th week of the competition is the clash between Burnley F.C. vs. Blackburn Rovers F.C., scheduled to take place this Saturday, March 5th, 2016 on Turf Moor stadium. Bookmakers are ready for this event, so if you wish to place a bet, don’t forget to use the Sportingbet promotional code to receive free money for a risk-free investment.

After being promoted to the Premier League for the 2014-2015 season, Burnley F.C. has relegated to the Sky Bet Championship after finishing the season second from the bottom. However, the team’s current form in the Sky Bet Championship indicates that the club is eager to compete at the top of the English football league system once more.

Following last week’s away victory against Bolton Wanderers (1-2), Burnley F.C. moved to the top position of the Sky Bet Championship with a total of 65 points. The Clarets are closely followed by Hull City and Middlesbrough with 64 points and a victory against the Blackburn Rovers might give them the opportunity to secure their leading position in the table and possibly the promotion to the Premier League for the following season.

The upcoming match against Blackburn Rovers is also a chance for Burnley F.C. to improve their current 12-3-2 home record at Turf Moor stadium. The team is unbeaten for the last 11 matches in the Championship and also the last 7 matches on home field.

Blackburn Rovers F.C.

Relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2011-2012 season, the Blackburn Rovers finished the 2014-2015 Sky Bet Championship on the 9th place. This season the team managed 9 wins, 13 draw and 11 lost matches and currently occupies the 16th place with 40 points.

Although Blackburn’s form is not so great, their latest victory against Middlesbrough (2-1) is a clear sign that the Rovers can play great football when they want. With 11 points between them and the bottom three teams, the club struggles to steer away from the relegation zone. However, before their latest away lost against Derby County (1-0), the Blackburn Rovers had been unbeaten in 4 away games from all competitions.

Head to head encounters

Both teams share a long history of head to head encounters with the first match against each other dating back to 1888. Since then, the teams have met 96 times with Blackburn managing 41 wins, 18 draws and 27 lost.

Their latest League Championship encounter took place in October 2015 when Burnley snatched an away victory thanks to a goal scored by centre midfield Scott Arfield in the second half of the game.

Key players

Regarding the goals scored this season, Burnley F.C. leads with 53 goals while Blackburn Rovers have managed a total of 33. Although there’s a 20 goals difference between them, both teams seem to have strong defences with Burnley having 27 goals against and Rovers 31.

One key player for Burnley F.C. is the centre forward Andre Gray, who is the League Championship’s top scorer with a record of 20 goals scored this season.
For the Rovers, Jordan Rhodes has scored 11 times in 26 appearances this current season although the club accepted his transfer to Middlesbrough a few days ago.

Predictions

For the Saturday’s match, both teams have full squads available with no missing injured players. Burnley F.C. is clearly the favourite team, not only because they have home field advantage but their current form is also great. On the other hand, Blackburn Rovers have a long history playing against Burnley F.C. and won’t simply give their points without a fight, especially when their current position in the table is not that great. This is why we anticipate a passionate match between those two teams filled with great football action, so make sure to watch it.