Blackburn v Brentford: Tired Rovers vulnerable to Bees' sting

Blackburn v Brentford
Friday March 12, 19:45
Sky Sports

Blackburn impress against high-flying Swans

Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray felt Rovers' performance was worthy of three points after they were held to a 1-1 draw against promotion-chasing Swansea at Ewood Park on Tuesday night. The hosts' enterprising first-half showing was rewarded with a goal from Bradley Dack, latching onto a sumptuous flicked pass from Tom Trybull, after 38 minutes.

But Mowbray's side were pegged back just three minutes later from the penalty spot. Rovers restricted their opponents to just one shot on-target throughout the contest - the penalty - and created a plethora of goalscoring opportunities of their own but were unable to carve a second breakthrough that their impressive showing had deserved.

Speaking post-match, Mowbray said: "I think the performance levels are what we've been getting. I don't think we've been much better or much worse. Swansea are a decent side but I thought we were in the ascendancy for most of the game. I think we deserved better overall. We can beat any team on our day and we nearly beat second in the league."

Brentford fail to fire at Norwich

Brentford return to action on Friday night after seeing last weekend's match with Rotherham postponed due to positive Covid-19 tests in the Millers squad. It means Thomas Frank's team should arrive at Ewood Park rested and refreshed with plenty of time to stew over their disappointing display in a 1-0 defeat at table-toppers Norwich in their last outing.

The Canaries had little trouble seeing out victory at Carrow Road in that contest after opening the scoring midway through the second half. The Bees' best spell came before the opening goal, with Sergi Canos making a terrible mess of a glorious close-range chance and top scorer Ivan Toney failing to get a true connection on a volley.

It means Brentford have now lost four of their past six games as they lacked precision and tempo in their passing with Frank admitting they didn't deserve anything. He said: "Our performance might have been good enough against many teams in this league but not the number-one team. I am disappointed that we could not produce our best against them."

Bees fair favourites

Recent encounters between Blackburn and Brentford have been entertaining and enthralling affairs. The duo have played out successive 2-2 draws in the capital, whilst Rovers have taken top honours in two of three unbeaten Ewood Park meetings (W2-D1-L0) between the pair. Seven of the last 11 head-to-head have featured Over 2.5 Goals 1.9620/21.

Blackburn 3.7011/4 have improved in recent weeks, collecting four points from their past two outings. However, Rovers have been rocked by key injuries throughout the campaign and are in the midst of a sustained lean spell. Tony Mowbray's men have produced only W5-D5-L10 since early December and have returned W7-D6-L15 when excluding the bottom-six.

Brentford 2.1411/10 made their traditionally slow start to the Championship season but the Bees' form since October's international break has largely been exceptional, bar a slight recent wobble (W17-D8-L5). The visitors boast an impressive W8-D4-L5 road record and have posted W8-D2-L4 when travelling to teams below them in the standings.

Tired Rovers vulnerable to Bees' sting

Friday night's fixture promises plenty as two of the division's three leading lights for goals per-game face-off in Lancashire. Nevertheless, Blackburn are unlikely to be in peak physical condition following two extensive efforts in the space of six days, whereas visitors Brentford should arrive at Ewood Park well rested following last weekend's postponement.

That extra recovery and preparation period should give the Bees the edge and therefore I'm happy to take Brentford to win and Over 1.5 Goals at 2.466/4 on the Same Game Multi. We're effectively backing Thomas Frank's team to succeed by any correct score that's not 1-0 - only two of Brentford's 18 Championship league wins this term ended in 1-0 victories.