It’s been a tough few days for Blackburn Rovers with the resignation of manager Steve Kean and the side find themselves on the road again when they take on Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night (Forest 6/4, draw 9/4, Rovers 9/5 Match Betting).
After months of speculation and pressure for change at Ewood Park, Kean finally decided to call it a day with the Lancashire outfit ahead of their 1-1 draw with Charlton Athletic at The Valley on Saturday.
The Scot’s departure will relieve the pressure on the Blackburn (11/2 Championship outright) squad and it will be up to caretaker manager Eric Black to guide the players through this spell, as the club’s owners continue their search for a successor.
Black has spoken about the positive attitude in the dressing room and, with the experience of Paul Robinson, Danny Murphy and Nuno Gomes in their ranks, they certainly have the mental strength to get through this difficult time and get results on the pitch.
The combination of Gomes and Scotland international Jordan Rhodes looks like it could be a potent partnership in the Championship this term and Forest will have their work cut out for them in defence if they are to keep the pair off the scoresheet.
As for the home side, their task against one of the favorites to win promotion back to the Premier League will be made all the more difficult following the suspension of Dexter Blackstock, who was sent off in the 1-0 defeat at the hands of bitter rivals Derby County on Sunday.
Forest will still be hurting from that defeat at the City Ground and manager Sean O’Driscoll will be wanting to put things right against Rovers.
However, Blackburn have so much strength in their starting XI and the luxury of bringing impact players off the bench, so they should be able to just edge out the Reds (13/2 1-0 Rovers correct score).
In Wednesday’s other encounter Derby, who will be buoyed by that win over Forest, make the trip to the North East to take on Middlesbrough (Middlesbrough 21/20, draw 12/5, Derby 5/2 Match Betting).
Boro suffered their first defeat at the Riverside last weekend, as they were undone by Leicester City 2-1 to the frustration of manager Tony Mowbray. It was really a game the home side should have won but goals from Jamie Vardy and Lloyd Dyer saw their downfall.
Derby will have their work cut out for them on Wednesday, as they go in search of their second away win of the season following that scalp against Forest.
The Rams look like they will struggle in the Championship once again this term and manager Nigel Clough looks set to head back down to the East Midlands with nothing to show for their efforts at the Riverside, with Boro looking just too strong for them (7/1 2-0 Middlesbrough correct score).
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