Blackburn Rovers

Oxford United welcome Blackburn to the Kassam Stadium on Saturday (15:00 GMT) seeking to continue their fine form under Gary Rowett.

The Us are unbeaten in five, claiming 11 points, ahead of the visit of Rovers, who ended a five match winless run, during which they claimed just two points, with Wednesday's 3-0 win over Portsmouth, which took them up to fifth.

• Oxford United have lost each of their past three league games against Blackburn Rovers, conceding 2+ goals in each of those defeats.

• Blackburn Rovers have lost just one of their past 12 league games against Oxford (W5 D6), a 3-1 defeat in December 1990.

• Oxford have won their past two home league games and could win three in a row for the first time since their opening three games at the Kassam Stadium this season.

• Blackburn Rovers have kept a clean sheet (3) or conceded exactly once (4) in their past seven away games (W4 D1 L2), their longest streak without conceding multiple goals on the road since April 2018 (8 in a row).

• Oxford United manager Gary Rowett has won just two of 12 career league games against Blackburn Rovers (D4 L6), 1-0 at home with both Birmingham in October 2016 and Millwall in July 2020.

Image source, Rex Features

Blackburn Rovers head coach John Eustace has been charged by the Football Association with misconduct following comments made to the media after their 1-1 draw against Leeds United on New Years Day.

Referee Oliver Langford awarded Leeds a late penalty after defender Dom Hyam's challenge caused Leeds forward Mateo Joseph to fall in the box, a decision which Eustace labelled as "soft" and suggested would not be awarded to the visiting team.

It was then converted by Leeds defender Pascal Struijk in the 88th minute to provide an opener before Rovers equalised two minutes later.

The FA's statement read: "It's alleged that (Eustace) acted in an improper manner during post-match media interviews by making comments that imply bias and/or question the integrity of a match official and/or are not in the best interests of the game."

Eustace has until 20 January to respond to the charges.

Andy Bayes
Sports Editor, BBC Radio Lancashire

Image source, Getty Images

Wednesday night was a match Blackburn Rovers had been waiting for. The game in hand on the rest of the teams in and around them in the table.

Many will have had it down as a home banker. But it felt like the game was going to need something different for the deadlock to be broken.

John Eustace has made changes to his team on the hour almost all season. In 26 league fixtures, 10 substitutes have scored. That's a pretty good return and certainly such decisions helped in this one.

The arrivals of Amario Cozier-Duberry, a youngster with a big future, and Makhtar Gueye, a target man, unpredictable, and still searching for his first league goal at Ewood Park since his summer move, were instrumental in the win over Portsmouth.

Gueye's header to open the scoring was textbook. Can he have the same impact in the starting XI? Time will tell.

Andi Weimann's goal took him to the top of the scoring charts with seven for the season, but the striker role is the area that is crying out for reinforcements.

Players continue to be linked who have Championship experience. That has to be key, that is what's missing right now from a squad who have surprised the majority of the division with their current placing.

A Championship-ready front man could do this squad a world of good with 20 big matches still to come.

Every credit to the coaching staff and the players for being top five with 26 games played. Many felt this season could be one of struggle and fighting the drop.

The window business remains critical to where they finish. It's likely the current top four will be in that final six come May, but can Rovers realistically be one of the other contenders for the two remaining spots?

They've been here before in recent years, but never made the play-offs in their soon to be 13-year absence from the top flight. It's safe to say that it's all to play for.

Image source, Rex Features

Blackburn Rovers head coach John Eustace has praised the impact of his substitutes in the team's play-off push.

The 3-0 win over Portsmouth was a first league victory in six games and saw Rovers climb back up to fifth.

They needed to wait until the 61st minute to go in front against Pompey, but Makhtar Gueye provided the breakthrough - Rovers'10th league this season scored by a substitute.

Almost a third of Blackburn's 31 goals have come from substitutes, contributing an extra 10 points to their tally of 42. Without those, they would be down in mid-table.

"It's a great record to have and it's showing how important the squad is," Eustace told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"Makhtar was disappointed not to be starting. But when he came on, he certainly made a big difference."

Blackburn Rovers have made a £1.75m bid for Coventry City striker Brandon Thomas Asante, with the Ghana international only making the starting XI once this season for the West Midlands side. (Sky Sports, external)

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Wednesday's gossip here.

Image source, Rex Features

Blackburn Rovers defender Dion Sanderson says he couldn't wait to be reunited with boss John Eustace.

The 25-year-old moved to Ewood Park on loan from Birmingham City last week and is back working under Eustace who he spent time with at both Blues and QPR

"It all happened quite quickly, my agent told me there was interest from Blackburn and straight away I was like, get me down there," Sanderson told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"I've got nothing but good memories under John - at Birmingham we had a strong half season and he built that connection with the players"

Blackburn are currently seventh in the Championship, one point outside the play-off places and Sanderson believes Eustace has all the qualities to manage at the top level.

"To me he's a great person first of all. He's really ambitious, dedicated to his job and will hammer down on the basics and there's no cutting corners which is how it should be.

"I'm glad to see him doing well here and I'm glad to be here to help."

The defender is in line to make his Rovers debut in Wednesday's Championship match at home to Portsmouth.

Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford is on a "long list" of players Blackburn Rovers are looking at as potential signings in January. (Lancashire Telegraph), external

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Tuesday's gossip here.

Image source, Getty Images

Blackburn Rovers boss John Eustace is hopeful that wingers Amario Cozier-Duberry and Ryan Hedges will be fit for Wednesday's rearranged Championship fixture against Portsmouth (19:45 GMT).

The pair missed the FA Cup win to Middlesbrough at the weekend due to illness.

Midfielder Adam Forshaw and Birmingham City loanee Dion Sanderson are both available and could make their debuts at Ewood Park, while captain Lewis Travis is back training on grass but is still a "couple of weeks away" from a full return.

The match was originally meant to take place in November but was postponed due to Storm Bert.

Blackburn Rovers seek a return to the play-off spots as they host relegation-threatened Portsmouth on Wednesday (19:45 GMT).

Rovers have not won any of their past five league games to see themselves drop out of the top six, just one point shy of West Bromwich Albion and two away from Middlesbrough in sixth and fifth respectively.

However, they did beat Boro on Saturday to advance to the fourth round of the FA Cup and will be hoping the victory reignites winning ways.

Meanwhile, Pompey lost out to League One's Wycombe Wanderers in their cup tie on Friday and will drop into the bottom three if Cardiff City avoid defeat against Watford on Tuesday.

• Blackburn Rovers are unbeaten across their past five league games against Portsmouth (W4 D1) and will be looking to win three matches in succession against Pompey for the first time since January 2006.

• Since 1985, Portsmouth have won just two of their 16 away league games against Blackburn Rovers (D3 L11), with both of those victories coming in the Premier League (2-1 in March 2004 & 1-0 in September 2007). During that run, Pompey have netted just 10 goals in total and more than one in a match just once.

• After a six-game winning streak in the league between November and December, Blackburn are without a win in their last five such games (D2 L3), losing each of their last two at Ewood Park.

• Portsmouth have lost each of their past four away league games, failing to score in three of those games and conceding 10.

• Portsmouth's Josh Murphy is one of only four players in the Championship this season with at least five goals and five assists, scoring and assisting in a game already in 2025 against Swansea City.

Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers have joined the race to sign Southampton forward Ben Brereton Diaz, with the Chile international struggling for game time on the south coast. (The Star, external)

However, the 25-year-old prefers either a loan move to Sheffield United or to see out the rest of the season with the Saints. (Daily Mail, external)

Chesterfield are favourites to sign Rovers defender Kyle McFadzean as the 37-year-old looks to move closer to home. (Derbyshire Times, external)

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Monday's gossip here.

Image source, Getty Images

FA Cup hero Andi Weimann has attributed his return to the Blackburn scoresheet with a timley change of hairstyle.

The 33-year-old bagged the only goal on 70 minutes to settle Rovers' third round tie at Middlesbrough on Saturday.

It ended a six-match scoring drought for the Austrian, extended to more than two months by a knee injury following his double in the 3-1 win at Cardiff in the Championship on 9 November.

He told the club website, external: "The boys said when I've got blonde hair I score goals, so I got it done two days ago and it worked."

Sunderland could bring in Ben Brereton-Diaz from Southampton to aid their promotion push, leading the race for the striker's signing ahead of his former clubs Sheffield United and Blackburn. (Sheffield Star, external)

QPR are set to battle Blackburn to the capture of veteran Crystal Palace midfielder Jeffrey Schlupp, who is out of contract at the end of the season. (Football League World, external)

Want more EFL transfer stories? Read Sunday's full gossip column.

Image source, Getty Images

Middlesbrough have won their last two FA Cup games against Blackburn, with this their first meeting in the competition since a 1-0 home win in the 2001-02 fifth round.

Meanwhile, Rovers are unbeaten in their past 10 away games against Middlesbrough in all competitions (W3 D7), and have already won 1-0 at the Riverside Stadium this season in the Championship.

Preston have cooled their interest in Crystal Palace wide man Jeffrey Schlupp, who has fallen out of favour at Selhurst Park and has also been linked with Blackburn. (Lancashire Evening Post, external)

Rovers midfielder Dilan Markanday is a target for League One Leyton Orient after an impressive loan spell in League Two with Chesterfield. (Football Insider, external)

Want more EFL transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column.