Blackburn v Cardiff: Goals in short supply at Ewood Park

• Blackburn have the lowest home xG tally in the league

• Cardiff are the Championship's lowest goalscorers

• BTTS No has won in 66% of the duos combined contests

Blackburn fall short against Boro

Blackburn boss Jon Dahl Tomasson believes John Buckley showed his inexperience by giving referee Leigh Doughty a decision to make following his game-changing red card against Middlesbrough on Thursday night. The Rovers midfielder was sent off for bouncing the ball against Riley McGree's head, five minutes into the second half.

The decision proved costly as McGree then scored what proved to be the winner five minutes later as Boro came from behind to secure a 2-1 success at Ewood Park.

Rovers had led 1-0 thanks to Ryan Hedges' first-half goal but a 10-minute collapse saw them concede within 40 seconds of the restart. Buckley was then dismissed, and the Teessiders completed the turnaround before the 56th minute.

Tomasson said: "I think it was a disappointing result to lose this game. We started the first-half playing some excellent football, we created chances, played with intensity and probably should have been up by more than one goal. We spoke about it at half-time that we needed to start well but the first 10 minutes of the second-half changed the whole game."

Buckley will now begin a three-match ban, and will be joined on the sidelines by Sam Szmodics, who picked up an injury over Christmas. Rovers are already without Tyrhys Dolan and Callum Brittain with Tomasson admitting, "we're stretched at the moment".

Cardiff hold firm at Coventry

Cardiff notched a fourth consecutive draw in the Championship after yet another goalless stalemate against Coventry. The Bluebirds' status as the league's lowest goalscorers was further cemented after another 90 minutes devoid of attacking quality with the capital club seemingly happy to cede possession and cling on for a precious point in the Midlands.

Manager Mark Hudson's search for a cutting edge was blunted further with Callum Robinson and Kion Etete missing out with knocks, meaning Mark Harris led the line. And with the Bluebirds operating under a transfer embargo, there will be no reinforcements come January as it stands, leaving the Welsh outfit bereft of final-third inspiration.

Nevertheless, Hudson was pleased with his team's performance, saying: "It's a very difficult place to come, with an in-form striker. I'm pleased with a point, I'm pleased we got a clean sheet and I've just said, if you don't play well then don't get beat. They put their bodies on the line for the club. The badge, their team-mates, for us, that's all we can ask for."

Both Robinson and Etete are expecting to be fine enough to feature from the off on Sunday afternoon with Hudson hoping to travel to Ewood Park with a fully fit squad.

Rovers fair favourites at Ewood Park

Blackburn were beaten 1-0 at Cardiff back in October's reverse encounter - it was Rovers' first reverse in eight meetings with the Bluebirds dating back to 2016 (W3-D4-L1). The duo have met six times at Ewood Park in league action this century with four of those fixtures ending all-square and Blackburn running out 5-1 victors in the most recent match-up here.

Only league leaders Burnley have won more home matches in the Championship this season than Blackburn 2.427/5. However, Rovers (W8-D0-L4) have suffered back-to-back Ewood Park defeats and curiously come into this clash without a single stalemate across their overall 25 league dates (W13-D0-L12). The hosts have lost five of their last seven outings.

Cardiff 3.5551/20 sit just three points above the drop-zone and arrive in Lancashire with two Championship triumphs to their name since mid-October (W2-D4-L6). The visitors have posted W3-D3-L6 on their travels, yet the Bluebirds have managed to table victories at high-flying pair Sunderland and Middlesbrough this term, highlighting their potential.

Goals at a premium in Lancashire

Under 2.5 Goals has been chalked up as a 1.768/11 shot and has paid out in 29 (58%) of the duos collective 50 Championship matches this season. When viewing the two teams' respective home/away records, the success rate of Unders decreases to just 12/24 (50%) and so I'm happy to look elsewhere for a goals-based wager from Ewood Park.

Instead, Both Teams To Score 'No' holds plenty of appeal at 1.991/1. Both Blackburn (0.82 xG) and Cardiff (0.95 xG) are in the bottom-three for average Expected Goals (xG) output per-game in the second-tier. Meanwhile, no side is generating fewer opportunities on home soil than Rovers, whilst the Bluebirds' away tally puts the Welsh side in the bottom-three.

With both sides have each accruing a reasonable nine clean sheets, and also struggling to create consistent and meaningful chances, BTTS No has proven to be a regular source of profit. Combined, this wager has proven a winning formula in 33/50 (66%) fixtures thus far, with 14/24 (58%) of home/away encounters following suit, suggesting 1.991/1 is a value price.