On their return to the Championship, Blackburn Rovers will travel to Portman Road to play Ipswich Town for the first game of the Championship 2018/19 season.
Both sides will be eager to start the campaign with a win, with Ipswich Town with a lot to prove after a busy first summer for new manager Paul Hurst. Blackburn Rovers haven’t been as busy as they had wished, but will also be determined to start the Championship season off well after last season’s promotion from League One.
Form
Blackburn Rovers
Hibernian 0-2 (W)
Port Vale 1-1 (D)
Liverpool 0-2 (L)
Lincoln City 0-1 (W)
Everton 3-0 (W)
Accrington Stanley 1-0 (L)
Ipswich Town
Braintree Town 2-0 (L)
Crawley Town 0-1 (W)
Barnet 0-1 (W)
MK Dons 0-1 (W)
West Ham United 1-2 (L)
Team News
The Tractor Boys have had six come in and six leave this summer, and all will be hoping to feature in the curtain raiser of their Championship campaign. The game is also manager Paul Hurst’s competitive debut at Ipswich, after joining from Shrewsbury – who gave Blackburn a run for their money in the race for automatic promotion. Ipswich don’t have any injury worries heading into the game tomorrow, and competition for starting places will be intense.
Blackburn have brought in three players this window, including Kasey Palmer on loan from Chelsea. Rovers are also closing in on a move for Newcastle United striker Adam Armstrong, but the chances of him arriving before the end of the week are very slim. Ben Gladwin (knee) and new signing Jacob Davenport (hip flexor) are out with injuries.
What to expect
Paul Hurst’s Shrewsbury success last season was down to their defensive set up, and they were extremely hard to break down throughout the League One season. Blackburn will be keen to start off the season strongly, but being the away side, they are more likely to sit back and soak up the pressure.
It will be an interesting tie at Portman Road. Hurst is making his Championship debut – as will many of Ipswich’s new signings – and will be keen to impress. Mowbray will be determined to start off the season as they mean to go on, as they hope to build on last season’s promotion.
