Blackburn and Forest braced for close-fought EFL Cup clash
Blackburn Rovers vs Nottingham Forest - 21/12/2022
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On Wednesday, Championship side Blackburn Rovers welcome Premier League outfit Nottingham Forest to Ewood Park in the EFL Cup round of 16.
Ahead of the restart, Forest find themselves third from bottom in the Premier League table – one point inside the relegation zone.
As for Rovers, they sit third in the Championship table – five points outside the automatic promotion places and five points inside the play-off spots. Can they cause an upset on Wednesday?
Blackburn have played two league games since the World Cup break, losing 4-1 to Preston before beating Norwich City 2-0.
Remarkably, Rovers have yet to register a single Championship draw this season – winning 13 and losing ten of their 23 games.
Blackburn kicked off their EFL Cup campaign with a 4-0 victory over Hartlepool United. They also beat Bradford City 2-1 before dispatching West Ham on penalties in the previous round.
Thanks to recent friendly wins against Ajax and Hearts, Rovers have lost just three of their past 12 encounters across all competitions.
On the flip side, Forest kicked off their EFL Cup campaign with an easy 3-0 victory over Grimsby Town before claiming an impressive 2-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur.
Steve Cooper’s side made a dismal start to the season, winning just one of their first 11 Premier League games.
Since then, however, the Reds have suffered one defeat in five league outings and managed to beat Liverpool and Crystal Palace in the lead-up to the World Cup.
Having discovered some form before the World Cup break, Forest will be eager to pick up where they left off and hit the ground running on Wednesday.
Head-to-head: Forest have won four of their last six games against Blackburn, while Rovers have managed to win just once in that time.
Seven of the past 12 meetings between Rovers and Forest have produced under 2.5 goals, meaning Wednesday’s clash is likely to be a low-scoring encounter.
Team news: Blackburn look set to be without the injured duo of Callum Brittain, Jack Vale and Sam Barnes until next month.
Forest have plenty of injury absentees of their own, with Moussa Niakhate, Cheikhou Kouyate, Giulian Biancone and Omar Richards on the sidelines.
With Blackburn flying high in the Championship and Forest struggling in the Premier League, this is likely to be a close-fought battle.
Forebet predicts that Blackburn and Forest will play out a goalless draw in normal time, meaning penalties will be required to determine the winner.
Home team
Away team
Pred
Correct score
Avg. goals
Weather conditions
Coef.
Score
Live
coef.
EFL
314128
X
0 - 0
2.38
7°
3.25
3.20
3.25
2.30
no
no
no
1 - 4(1 - 1)
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