After facing Welsh opposition in successive weekends, Blackburn Rovers will be looking to return to winning ways in the Championship on Tuesday night when they welcome in-form Stoke City to Ewood Park.

Rovers were thrashed by high-flying Swansea City in South Wales at the weekend and will be eager to put that 4-0 defeat behind them, while the Potters returned to winning ways after a goalless draw with Bristol City by beating Preston North End 2-0 to round off a successful October in style.

Match preview

Having narrowly avoided relegation to League One last season, Blackburn Rovers turned to former manager Tony Mowbray in the summer, hoping the 62-year-old could guide the Lancashire club further up the table.

After 13 Championship matches back at the club where he oversaw 267 games between February 2017 and May 2022, Mowbray has made a positive start, with five wins, three draws and five defeats leaving Rovers 13th in the table and nine points clear of the relegation zone.

Blackburn have faced all three Welsh sides in the Championship this month, with victories over Cardiff City and Wrexham helping them move further away from danger, but a heavy 4-0 defeat to promotion hopefuls Swansea on Saturday prevented them from making it three wins in a row.

Mowbray's side travelled across the border just two points outside the top eight, having won four of their previous six league outings, but goals from Stephen Eustaquio, Joseph Opoku and Filip Lissah in the first half, followed by Ross Stewart's strike shortly before the hour mark, condemned Rovers to their heaviest defeat of the campaign.

A victory on Tuesday against a side they have failed to beat in their last four meetings could leave Blackburn just one point outside the playoff places heading into the weekend, underlining the progress they have made after finishing 20th and only five points above the bottom three last season.

As for Stoke City, they make the 70-mile journey north looking to build on an excellent start to the campaign, having defied expectations after ending last season in the bottom half of the table.

Under Mark Robins, the Potters have made their best start to a Championship season since being relegated from the Premier League in 2018, collecting seven wins, two draws and four defeats from their opening 13 matches to sit seventh with 23 points.

Stoke began the 2026-27 campaign with three successive defeats but have since turned their fortunes around following a 4-1 thrashing by Wolverhampton Wanderers at the end of August.

A change in formation, with Robins now favouring a back three, has helped spark an impressive run of seven wins in their last 10 matches, with their only defeat during that period coming against league leaders Middlesbrough, who snatched a 91st-minute winner.

Since the start of September, no side has conceded fewer goals than Robins' men, highlighting the impact of their reshaped young defence at the bet365 Stadium, while a 2-0 victory over bottom club Preston North End at the weekend was secured through goals from Ben Wilmot and Jack McGlynn.

The sides meet for the first time this season, having drawn 1-1 in each of their last two encounters.

Blackburn Rovers Championship form:

Stoke City Championship form:

Team News

Following a 4-0 defeat last time out, Mowbray may have been considering changes regardless, but further injury problems mean he will have little choice but to freshen up his side for Tuesday's clash.

Harry Pickering was forced off after just 24 minutes against Swansea and will miss this match, with Gady Beyuku having replaced him at the time and now in contention to start against the Potters.

The full-back will join Adam Forshaw and Ryoya Morishita on the sidelines, although the midfield duo are closing in on returns to action.

On a more positive note, Yuri Ribeiro and Yuki Ohashi are both be available for selection after returning to the bench last time out, having missed the previous month and eight weeks respectively.

As for the visitors, Robins has the option of naming an unchanged side, although the quick turnaround between fixtures could prompt some alterations.

Stoke will be without Eric Bocat, Ato Ampah, Sam Gallagher and Lamine Cisse, but captain Viktor Johansson is expected to retain his place in goal, while American winger McGlynn is also likely to feature after netting for the third time in the league on Saturday.

Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:

B. Toth; Alebiosu, Atcheson, McLoughlin, Pickering; Baradji, Montgomery; Fevrier, Cantwell; Afolayan; Gudjohnsen

Stoke City possible starting lineup:

Johansson; Wilmot, Lawal, Graham; Johnson, Soumare, Galbraith, Bombino; McGlynn, Bozenik, Devenny

We say: Blackburn Rovers 1-2 Stoke City

Although both sides have made far more encouraging starts to the new season than many of their supporters might have anticipated, we expect Stoke to come away from Ewood Park with all three points on Tuesday night.

The Potters will be keen to extend their unbeaten run to four matches, and we believe they can do so by claiming an eighth league victory of the campaign and moving closer to the automatic promotion places.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.