Town boss Kieran McKenna believes Saturday lunchtime’s visitors Blackburn Rovers are tricky opponents for teams who take the Blues’ approach to the game.

McKenna’s team go into the weekend third in the Championship, two points behind second-placed Middlesbrough, who are away at West Brom this evening, and six off leaders Coventry, who host Leicester at the same time Town face Rovers on Saturday, with a game in hand on the two clubs above them.

Blackburn are currently 20th, four points from the relegation zone having won just once in their last 10 in the league - a 2-0 home victory over Millwall almost a month ago - 11 including last week’s on-penalties FA Cup defeat at Hull City, the Tigers winning a shootout 4-3 after a 1-1 draw.

Despite their lowly standing, McKenna says Rovers can be a tough team to play against having effectively faced them twice already this season, the first meeting having been abandoned due to a waterlogged pitch 10 minutes from time.

“I think they’re a really tricky opponent. I think especially for the teams who like to play with the ball, who like to play through the pitch and play well with a ball on the ground,” he said.

“And I think you can see the difficult games that they given us. You can see the difficult game that they gave Middlesbrough over the Christmas period [a 0-0 draw at the Riverside on Boxing Day], they beat Southampton [2-1 at home in October] and beat Leicester [2-0 away in November]. 
 
“If you look at the results since they went to a back five against the teams that have the most possession in the league, they’ve had good results.

“And I understand why, it's nothing new. They man-to-man mark, which always makes it difficult to play through the pitch. It means that the game can end up quite broken, quite fragmented. It means your goalkeeper is going to have time on a ball, but it's hard to get anyone else time on the ball.
 
“And they break the game up really well. They run hard, they duel well, they’re aggressive in tackles and they take a lot of set plays and a lot of long throws from both sides. 

“So, for a team who want to get the ball and play, have rhythm and play through the pitch, that’s a tough type of team to come up against, which is why I think they’ve given us tough games and they’ve given some of the other, you could probably say, more footballing teams or teams who like to play through the pitch, some tough games. 
 
“That’s a challenge for us to rise to tomorrow. It’s nothing new, we’ve faced that type of team down the years, but they do it very well and it’s going to make for another really tough game, I’ve got no doubt about that.

“It’s going to be a big challenge tomorrow. We’re going to need a big effort. I’m not sure it’s going to be a perfectly beautiful performance, it’s really hard to do that against teams that press man-to-man and break the game up well. 

“So we need to show a lot of qualities. We’re going to need the crowd right there with us. We’re going to need to show a lot of resilience.

“And if we do all that, then I think we can produce a good performance against that type of opponent and hopefully get a good result.”

Rovers have picked up 18 of their 28 points on the road having won five, drawn three and lost four, and would be seventh in a table based purely on away games, two points and four places ahead of the Blues. At home, however, only Sheffield Wednesday’s form is worse.

Despite their generally solid away form, only two teams, Birmingham, eight, Portsmouth, seven, have scored fewer than their total of 11 goals on their travels.

But they have conceded only 10 away from home, the fewest of any team in the division by three, Stoke having shipped the second-fewest, 13.

“It doesn’t massively surprise me,” McKenna said regarding Rovers’ away record. “When you look at them, they’re not a bottom-of-the-table team.

“But the table is really tight and the results are really tight, so I think everyone knows that. But again, I know what a challenge this game is.

“They’re a difficult opponent for everyone. They’ve shown that, even the Coventry away game [a 2-0 defeat], they probably should have won the game or at least got something from it.

“I know we felt that they’re a tricky opponent and we’re going to have to bring our best game, show a lot of qualities.

“Having the crowd right behind us and a real good Portman Road atmosphere will help that. But ultimately it’s up to us to do the things that we're going to need to do to try and win the game.”

After Town’s recent win at Coventry, Sky Blues boss Frank Lampard felt his players had been hurried into committing themselves into pressing Town keeper Christian Walton by their anxious fans when they needed to bide their time.

McKenna was asked whether patience was a message he had for fans ahead of Saturday’s game.
 
“I wouldn’t say a message,” he considered. “I’d like to think that most understand how we play now and have seen the benefits and the fruits of it down the years, and we’re not perfect.

“But I’d like to think we’re better to watch than lots and lots of teams you could go and watch on any Saturday at three o'clock.
 
“I think in particular against teams who press man-to-man or that type of opponent, very often it is the goalkeeper who is the one who’s got the time on the ball and if you put the ball quickly to a defender or quickly up the pitch, then you can end up with a really, really chaotic game against that type of opponent and turn the ball over really quickly, which is the type of game that the Blackburn will want and will excel at. 
 
“So we have to find that balance. You want to put tempo and energy into your games, especially at home.

“Sometimes it’s easier [away]. At Coventry, for Christian to almost enjoy having the ball at his feet and know that the home crowd is going to turn a little bit against the opponent for not pressing, you can enjoy taking the sting out of the game.

“At home you want to get the ball and play. You want to get people off their seat and bring excitement to the game, but you also know against this type of opponent that as soon as you put that ball in play, somebody’s under man-to-man pressure.

“It’s a mixture between doing that, leaning into the chaotic nature that the game can be, and playing fast and playing through the pitch quickly and risking some turnovers in both directions.

“And also setting the game up well, making sure our positions are right, making sure everyone’s ready for the pressure and then when we decide to bounce through it or go over it, everyone’s on the same page.
 
“To play how we play, to play brave, to play through the pitch, it takes a lot of work, a lot of bravery from the boys.

“Fans always enjoy seeing the ball really close to the opponent’s goal, rather than your goal and so do we all, but it’s an important part of a game model and I think tomorrow that will be one important factor. 
 
“I trust that the supporters will be right there behind the boys and trying to get us a performance and result that are going to give us a big boost.”

Reflecting on whether the atmosphere is affected by a 12.30pm kick-off, McKenna recalled some of the best days of his time at Town.

“I remember playing Norwich at 12 o’clock in maybe the best atmosphere we’ve ever had. Exeter, I think, was an early kick-off, was Huddersfield an early kick-off possibly as well?

“I think we've had some brilliant early kick-off atmospheres at Portman Road. So, it’s the same challenge for staff, players, supporters, everyone. Set the alarm a little bit early, have a good breakfast, get your game face on nice and early and be ready to come to the stadium and bring what you can bring, irrespective of the kick-off time. And if the pub's open, then that would help!”

The Team

Having made a number of changes for last week’s 2-1 FA Cup victory over Blackpool, but McKenna seems likely to return more closely to the XI which saw the Blues to a win against Oxford at Portman Road in their last Championship fixture on New Year’s Day.

That would see Walton return in goal with Darnell Furlong and Leif Davis the full-backs and skipper Dara O’Shea and Cedric Kipre the central defenders.

Azor Matusiwa, who is still on nine bookings with a 10th leading to a two-match ban, seems likely to be joined in midfield by Jens Cajuste but with Jack Taylor another option.

Sindre Walle Egeli appears likely to be on the right, 10-goal top scorer Jaden Philogene on the left and Marcelino Nunez the number 10. George Hirst will return as the number nine following his groin injury.

The Opposition

Blackburn boss Valerien Ismael has lost keeper Aynsley Pears to a wrist injury meaning Balazs Toth, who was in goal for the Hull FA Cup tie, will keep his place between the sticks.

Midfielder Kristi Montgomery is also set to miss the trip to Suffolk having suffered a shoulder injury against the Tigers.

Better news for the Frenchman is that midfielder Adam Forshaw is available again after a hamstring injury.

Despite that, Rovers still have a lengthy injury list with Ryan Hedges, Hayden Carter, Matty Litherland, Scott Wharton, Ryoya Morishita, Augustus Kargbo and Andri Gudjohnsen all remaining unavailable.

Right-back Ryan Alebiosu has been away with Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations and isn’t expected back until next week.

So far in January, Blackburn have added Danish forward Mathias Jorgensen from Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt and centre-half Eiran Cashin from Brighton, a player the Blues were keen on during his time at Derby County. Striker Makhtar Gueye has departed for Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua.

Ismael says he anticipated the Blues being in the top two in the division following their relegation.

“We expected them to be maybe even higher in the table,” he told BBC Radio Lancashire. “From the teams dropping from the Premier League, they are the ones that are stable and able to get the result.

“We know what we have to do. We have played twice against them. Two games we have been closer to winning than losing.

“We know we have to bring a forceful performance, be brave on the ball and grow in the game.

“It’s a tough away game but this season we’ve had great performances and results away which gives us good confidence.”

History

Town have had the upper hand on Rovers historically, winning 21 games (18 in the league), losing 16 (15) and drawing 19 (18).

The Blues have lost only one of their last eight against Blackburn, while at home they are unbeaten in 10 with Rovers’ last success at Portman Road in the Premier League in November 1994 when the Lancastrians won 3-1 on their way to the title with Town destined for the drop.

The teams last met at Ewood Park in December when sub Walle Egeli’s first goal for the club grabbed a last-gasp point for the Blues as the teams drew 1-1 in the restaging of the match abandoned earlier in the campaign.

The Lancastrians went ahead in the 76th minute through Gudjohnsen and looked to have seen out a deserved second Championship home win of the season until the Norwegian curled in a late leveller in the 94th minute.

The sides met for the initial staging of the match in September when the game was abandoned after 80 minutes due to a waterlogged pitch with the home side 1-0 up and with the Blues down to 10 men.

Greaves was shown a straight red card four minutes after the break for hauling down Yuki Ohashi, then Rovers skipper Todd Cantwell netted a penalty on 59.

But the heavy rain had made the game increasingly farcical the longer it progressed and in the 80th minute referee Stephen Martin took the players off and then 25 minutes later abandoned it entirely.

The most recent Portman Road meeting was in September 2023 when Massimo Luongo’s 79th-minute goal saw Town beat Rovers 4-3 and move back up to second in the Championship after a pulsating, end-to-end clash.

Harry Clarke gave the Blues the lead with his first and still only goal for the club on four but Blackburn debutant Arnor Sigurdsson levelled five minutes later.

Nathan Broadhead restored Town’s lead on 18 and George Hirst made it 3-1 against his old loan club seven minutes later before Rovers hit back after the break through Harry Leonard and Szmodics on 52 and 65, prior to Luongo’s decisive strike 11 minutes from the end.

Familiar Faces

Blues forward Sammie Szmodics joined the club from Blackburn in the summer of 2024 after two very successful years at Ewood Park in which he scored 43 goals in 78 starts and 13 sub appearances, 33 of those goals in 2023/24 in which he carried off the Championship Golden Boot, was named the club’s Player of the Year and won his £9 million move to the Blues.

Striker Hirst was with Rovers on loan in the first half of 2022/23 but made only three starts and eight sub appearances without scoring before his spell was cut short and he joined Town on loan in January before making his move from Leicester permanent that summer.

Blues keeper Walton spent the 2019/20 campaign on loan at Ewood Park, making 46 appearances.

Ex-Town striker, Jordan Rhodes, was appointed loan manager at Ewood Park following his retirement early in the season.

Rhodes was at Portman Road from 2005, when he joined the club as a 15-year-old from Barnsley for £5,000 after his father Andy became keeper-coach, until 2009 when he was controversially sold to Huddersfield by then-manager Roy Keane just as he was making his mark in the first team.

Officials

Saturday’s referee is Andrew Kitchen, his assistants Shaun Hudson and Richard Woodward, and the fourth official Richard Eley.

The Durham-based official has shown 53 yellow cards and one red in 18 games so far this season.

Kitchen has already refereed the Blues twice this season, most recently the 2-1 home victory over Portsmouth in which he yellow-carded Walle Egeli and two of the visitors.

He also took charge of the opening game at Birmingham City, in which he awarded Town a last-gasp penalty for handball, which was converted by Hirst to claim the point. He booked Matusiwa, Chaplin, Taylor and two home players.

His previous Blues match was the final away game of 2024/25, the 2-0 defeat at Leicester City, Kitchen’s second Premier League match, in which he booked only one player, Kasey McAteer, then with the Foxes.

Prior to that, he was in control of the 3-3 draw at Hull City in April last year in which he booked Luongo, Axel Tuanzebe, Wes Burns and one Tigers player.

Before that, he was in the middle for the 2-1 home victory over Coventry at Portman Road in December 2023 when he again yellow-carded Luongo, as well as Brandon Williams and one Sky Blue.

In the summer of that year, he officiated in the 2-1 pre-season victory at Preston North End and before that the 3-2 win at Port Vale in October 2022 in which he kept his cards in his pocket throughout.

Kitchen’s only Town fixture aside from those was the 2-0 win at Fleetwood in March 2022 when he booked Sam Morsy, Luke Woolfenden and one home player.

Squad From

Walton, Palmer, Button, Furlong, Johnson, Young, Davis, O’Shea (c), Greaves, Kipre, Matusiwa, Cajuste, Taylor, Nunez, J Clarke, Walle Egeli, Burns, Philogene, McAteer, Szmodics, Akpom, Hirst, Azon.

Photo: TWTD