Blackburn Rovers vs Leeds United analysis: Five key battles and score prediction
The Championship continues to excite as we move closer to the festive calendar and the fixtures begin to ramp up.
The fixture list this weekend takes us to Ewood Park, where top-of-the-table Leeds United visit play-off chasing Blackburn Rovers.
Leeds made it two wins from two following the international break as they comfortably dispatched of Luton Town after their thrilling last-minute antics away at Swansea City.
Blackburn, playing their first fixture in three weeks following their weekend postponement, kept Middlesbrough at bay and snatched three points from The Riverside.
Here, Sports News Blitz writer Samuel Leasley considers five key battles for the early afternoon kick-off at Ewood Park.
John Eustace vs Daniel Farke
Following the frustration of the club’s late postponement of their fixture with Portsmouth, Eustace will be more than happy at his side’s response, picking up back-to-back league wins for the first time this season.
Rovers frustrated a Middlebrough side who had netted 15 goals in their previous three fixtures and struck from close range through Dom Hyam to place themselves just two points outside of the play-offs.
Eustace holds a strong record against Farke’s Leeds side, winning both his fixtures against the Whites last season with first Birmingham and then Blackburn.
A late Lukas Jutkiewicz penalty gave Eustace’s Birmingham victory and a smash and grab at Elland Road via a Sammie Szmodics goal gave Blackburn all three points, inflicting a first home defeat of the season for Leeds.
Farke will be looking to dispel this poor record against Eustace to continue his side’s recent good form and great goalscoring return.
Leeds showed incredible determination and grit to take all three points from the Swansea City stadium having been pegged back so late in the game - and Wilfried Gnonto’s winner gave Leeds a place at the top of the table.
Nine goals in their last three games has been a return to top goalscoring form for the Whites - and this could end up a crucial piece of the Championship-winning formula through having the best goal difference in the league.
Their midweek victory over Luton capped off their 10th clean sheet of the season and Farke will be looking to build a defensive return that matches the efficiency of his side’s goalscoring.
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Todd Cantwell vs Jayden Bogle
Cantwell is certainly a player that Farke knows all too well and it will be intriguing to see how he can contain a player of immense technical quality.
Whilst operating as an attacking midfielder in the victory at The Riverside, Cantwell often operates by drifting off the left hand side, as he was utilised under Farke at Norwich, and will likely have Jayden Bogle for company.
An offside flag denied the former Rangers man his first goal for the club against Middlesbrough and he will no doubt be eagerly searching for his first goal since moving from the Scottish giants.
The Englishman has picked up three assists in the league this season and is proving to be a target monitored by opposition defences as he has won the second most fouls in the Blackburn squad with 19.
Eustace will be hoping Cantwell keeps a level head during this fixture, avoiding any petulance, as he remains only a single yellow card away from a ban.
Whilst there is no question of the talent that Cantwell possesses, his lack of a goalscoring return may begin to worry the Rovers faithful.
Former Sheffield United man Bogle has recovered from a shaky start defensively to his Leeds career to become a reliable performer at right-back for the Whites.
He has won the most tackles of any Leeds player with 25 despite this coming at a slight deficit with 25 fouls committed.
Bogle picked up his first assist of the season in midweek, with his throughball picking out the run of Dan James, who chipped the on-rushing Thomas Kaminski.
As much of an asset going forward as he is defensively, Bogle will be looking to not only nullify the threat of Cantwell but also threaten Harry Pickering behind him.
Should Blackburn choose to frustrate Leeds with a lower block, Bogle may find it difficult to find space.
However, should Rovers look to match Leeds man for man with their press, it may open the door for the right-back to create chances.
Lewis Travis vs Brenden Aaronson
Arguably the standout performer in the Rovers midfield, Travis has developed a reputation for being a tough-tackling, defensive-minded player who looks to shut down opposition attackers.
Travis has started every fixture for Rovers this season and as club captain he has set an incredible example for the rest of the squad with regards to his defensive resilience.
Travis has made the most successful tackles of any player in the squad with 28 and only trails midfield partner Sondre Tronstad in interceptions having notched up 20.
The midfielder tasted promotion success with Ipswich at the conclusion of last season following a loan move for the second half of the campaign - and he will want to push his team-mates towards similar heights as they near the play-off places.
Against Luton Town, Aaronson was arguably the quietest of any attacking player in the Leeds line-up and will be looking to gain an edge over Travis and give Farke no questions over his performance.
Much of Leeds’ success in recent fixtures has come via their wide men and this has left Aaronson often alienated and with a lack of service as Leeds progress the ball via the likes of Manor Solomon and Gnonto.
Aaronson is an integral part of Leeds’ press from the front and he has mustered up a commendable 14 successful tackles alongside 56 recoveries within the final third.
Despite not notching up a goal or assist since Leeds’ home victory over Plymouth Argyle, this is not to say that Aaronson has been ineffective - and even with the wide men taking the plaudits, arguably no man works harder in the Leeds front quartet than him.
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Yuki Ohashi vs Pascal Struijk
A man looking to rediscover his goalscoring form is newly-capped Japanese international Ohashi.
Ohashi is Blackburn’s joint top scorer this season with four goals yet has failed to find the net since September 14 against Bristol City.
After over 600 minutes since his last goal, Ohashi will be looking to expose a Leeds defence that, despite having accumulated 10 clean sheets, has been exposed by numerous opposition teams away from Elland Road.
In the absence of Andreas Weimann, Ohashi has assumed the position as his own with only Makhtar Gueye for competition - and Rovers fans will be hoping that the confidence following his first cap against Indonesia will spur the forward to a first goal in two months.
Acting club captain Struijk has been integral in Leeds’ success this season defensively - and has also provided attacking influence in recent fixtures.
His through-ball teed up James to assist Solomon at Swansea and on Wednesday his header was parried to a well-positioned Joel Piroe for Leeds’ second goal.
Struijk also provided an acrobatic clearance stopping a goal-bound shot from Victor Moses in midweek with the game finely poised at 1-0.
The Dutchman has made the most interceptions of any Leeds man with 21 and has only accumulated two bookings this season.
Alongside Joe Rodon, Struijk has turned Leeds into a strong defensive unit and provided the main threat for the Whites from set-pieces.
In particular the Whites will be looking to avoid any cheap defensive mistakes that cost them three goals away at Swansea and this will mean Struijk will have to monitor Ohashi and prevent any threat he carries.
Dominic Hyam vs Joel Piroe
Entering this fixture with a clean sheet and a goal to his name is probably the best thing Hyam could have wished for - but the Scotland international will need to be at his defensive best to cope with Leeds’ top scorer Piroe.
Hyam, despite being possibly offside, tapped home a Cantwell cross to give Blackburn a win against high-flying Middlesbrough and this capped off a strong defensive performance against a side who had put six past Oxford merely days before.
Hyam has started every Championship game for Rovers this season and has developed a partnership with former Norwich man Danny Batth at the heart of defence.
Only Owen Beck has stats above Hyam in the defensive line, with the central defender making 11 successful tackles and providing nine interceptions.
Having gone five games without a clean sheet, Hyam will look to make it two from two following the international break - but to do so he will need to cope with a Leeds side in fine goalscoring form.
Piroe took his goal tally to seven for the season against Luton, pouncing on a loose ball following a corner to double Leeds’ lead on the night.
Despite a quiet showing against his former side Swansea on Sunday, it was his presence that disrupted their backline on many occasions - in particular forcing Benjamin Cabango to score past his own keeper.
Piroe is a constant threat from within the 18-yard box and has notched all of his goals this season from within the penalty area.
A natural poacher, Piroe can often find himself without service should Leeds fail to break down a low block, yet he provides an incredible efficiency in front of goal.
Piroe has scored seven goals from only 11 shots on target and has provided many crucial goals in tight games to see Leeds through.
With the Leeds wide men hitting a purple patch of form, Piroe will be looking to add to his tally through the hard work of Gnonto, James and Solomon creating chances and crossing opportunities for him.
Conclusion
Leeds enter this fixture in fine goalscoring form and will be looking to maintain their place at the top of the Championship table.
Despite frustrating goal-crazy Middlesbrough on Wednesday, it will be a tough task to keep the Leeds frontline quiet following nine goals in three games.
It may prove to be a tight affair, but I feel Leeds United’s recent form will see them over the line in this fixture.
Score prediction: Blackburn Rovers 0 Leeds United 2
