Blackburn v Nottingham Forest: Reds to relish Ewood Park trip

“Nottingham Forest sit third in the Championship based on results since Steve Cooper took charge (W11-D6-L4)”

Blackburn fail to fire

High-flying Blackburn missed the chance to close the gap on Championship leaders Fulham as they were beaten 1-0 by 10-man Swansea on Saturday evening. Michael Obafemi’s first-half header secured top honours for the Swans and sent second-placed Rovers to only their second league defeat in 14 fixtures, stretching back to early November.

The hosts saw Ryan Manning dismissed just after half-time, but Tony Mowbray’s men were unable to make their second-half pressure tell. Blackburn won the shot count 17-4 in Wales but only hit the target on four occasions – Darragh Lenihan coming closest to levelling when he hit the woodwork – as Rovers’ frustrating recent spell in front of goal continued.

Chile striker Ben Brereton Diaz started on the bench after his latest trip to South America and should start here with Mowbray refusing to be downbeat despite the loss. He said: “I have to temper my anxiety and frustration to them. They are a young side who are learning on the job and are doing brilliantly well to be where they are in the table.”

Ruthless Forest thrash Foxes

Nottingham Forest head coach Steve Cooper spoke of his pride as he reflected on an exceptional 4-1 victory for the Tricky Trees over East Midlands rivals Leicester in the FA Cup on Sunday. Goals from Philip Zinckernagel, Brennan Johnson, Joe Worrall and Djed Spence knocked out the defending champions in a pulsating fourth round tie.

A superb team performance came in front of a packed-out City Ground as the Reds backed up their previous win in the competition, over Arsenal, with another Premier League scalp. Cooper was delighted with his players’ efforts before quickly turning attention to Wednesday night’s crucial clash at Ewood Park in the Championship promotion race.

Cooper said: “I’m proud of the team and proud of the club. We’ll enjoy it now, but I’ve told the lads, as soon as they leave they’ve got to start thinking about Wednesday night. If we want to be a real proper team with a real winning mentality, then we have to get ready for the next game. That’s got to be the focus now and that’s the only thing I’m thinking about.”

Blackburn and Nottingham Forest have returned an equal W5-D5-L5 across their last 15 league meetings dating back to 2012/13. Rovers were 2-1 victors in the reverse match-up back in August, although the Reds had bagged three wins on the spin in head-to-head encounters beforehand, with four of the last five renewals at Ewood Park ending all-sqaure.

Blackburn 2.486/4 have been the Championship’s in-form team since mid-October, posting W11-D3-L3 in that 17-game sequence. Rovers have accumulated 10 clean sheets in that same sample, as well as returning W7-D1-L1 as hosts to climb into the automatic promotion picture. The home team have W5-D5-L4 when taking on top-half teams this term.

Nottingham Forest 3.259/4 sit third in the Championship based on results since Steve Cooper took charge (W11-D6-L4). Three of the four defeats have come against top-eight outfits with the Reds returning W2-D4-L7 when facing top-half teams across the whole campaign. The guests have W6-D4-L4 on their travels, boasting the second-best defence in the division.

Reds make Asian Handicap appeal

Blackburn have found the goalscoring tricky in recent weeks, notching only twice in their past six league outing. Yet Tony Mowbray’s troops have conceded just six goals in 14 Championship encounters since their humbling 7-0 shellacking at the hands of Fulham – Rovers have silenced nine of their most recent 14 opponents in that sample.

Nottingham Forest are trending in the right direction but also have a penchant for tight tussles when taking to the road. Five of the Reds’ most recent seven away days have seen fewer than three goals, suggesting another low-scoring encounter could be on the cards, especially so considering the high-stakes fixture on our hands for Wednesday night.

However, Under 2.5 Goals is trading at just 1.705/7 and a more palatable option could be to support Nottingham Forest 0 & +0.5 in the Asian Handicap at 1.855/6. Here, we’ll make money should the Tricky Trees avoid defeat with a full-stakes profit made if the away side succeed and a half-stakes pay-out ensured if the match ends in a draw.