Blackburn Rovers

Image source, Rex Features

Blackburn Rovers head coach, John Eustace says he got just the reaction he wanted from his side in Wednesday's 2-0 home defeat by Stoke even if the result did not go their way.

Rovers also lost 2-0 at home to Sheffield United on Saturday but Eustace believes they are on the right track.

"I thought it was excellent, it was one of the best performances with the ball since I've been here," he told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"The lads played with a lot of confidence and on another day we could have won the game by three or four goals."

The defeat is Blackburn's third in a row and their fourth game without scoring.

"We need to defend properly and keep clean sheets but it's important we stay positive because that performance was excellent.

"We limited Stoke to very little but they've got real quality in their front line, paid good money for a lot of big players and you can see when they got the opportunity they took it," added Eustace.

Image source, Rex Features

Blackburn Rovers head coach John Eustace has confirmed Arnor Sigurdsson will miss Wednesday's Championship home match against Stoke City.

Speaking to BBC Radio Lancashire, Eustace confirmed the Icelandic midfielder is expected to return after the international break, meaning he will also be out for the trip to Cardiff City on Saturday.

"Obviously, he has had a tough time recently through illness and injury just as he was coming up to speed," he said.

"The last couple of weeks he's trained well and just as he's about to come back into the team, unfortunately he's got a slight strain, so, frustrating all round really."

Meanwhile, Eustace remained cautious on the fitness of young striker Harry Leonard after the 21-year-old striker's return to first-team training.

Despite Rovers going three games without scoring, the Stoke match seems to have come around slightly too soon for Leonard to feature.

"I think it's important we don't push Harry too early," said Eustace.

"He's still short of match fitness and that's why he's been playing a lot for the under-23s but as long as we can keep him match-fit, he's going to get stronger and stronger throughout the season.

"We know he can score goals, he's done that through all the levels."

"He's a young player coming from the academy and everyone loves a player coming through the ranks and he's hungry to do well."

Image source, Rex Features

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Stoke City will aim to pick up their second away win of the Championship season when they visit Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday night. Narcis Pelach’s side have won one of their past five games (D3, L1), while Rovers are without a win in three (D1, L2).

• Blackburn completed a league double over Stoke last season and are looking for three wins in a row against them for the first time since a run of five between 1988 and 2008.

• After going eight league games unbeaten at Ewood Park between 2009 and 2022, Stoke City lost 3-1 there last season.

• Blackburn’s Tyrhys Dolan scored twice in that match - the first time he had done so in the league.

• Blackburn have not won a midweek league game since a 2-1 win over Bristol City in December 2023 (D3, L4 since), failing to score in six of those seven games.

• Stoke have failed to win or score in each of their past four away league games (D1, L3). The Potters have not gone five successive league games on the road without scoring outside the top-flight since August 1997 (a run of nine).

Image source, BBC Sport