Championship high-flyers Middlesbrough will be roared on by up to 7,000 supporters when they make the journey down to Blackburn Rovers on Boxing Day.
Blackburn are notorious for giving away a large allocation to visiting fans with their huge Darwen End Stand capable of housing 8,000 visiting spectators.
Last season, Boro’ were cheered on by over 6,000 from the North-East but had little to celebrate in a game that ended 0-0. This season – and with potentially more support, they will be hoping to go one better.
They suffered their heaviest defeat of the season last Saturday when they were humbled 3-0 at promotion rivals Hull, but they will no doubt be looking to bounce back quickly and stay in touch with the front-runners.
Blackburn’s Manager Search …
Meanwhile, Blackburn’s search for a new manager continues with Paul Lambert and Tim Sherwood believed to be the early front-runners for the position with David Moyes also believed to be attracting some interest following his recent dismissal from Real Sociedad.
Gary Bowyer became the eighth Sky Bet Championship managerial casualty already this season when he was relieved of his duties last week following a poor run of form – a run which had seen Rovers pick up just three wins so far this campaign and only one win from their last six. They were 15th in the table.
Bowyer had been in charge at Ewood Park since May 2013 – landing the job following one of several impressive stints when filling in as a caretaker manager.
Meanwhile, Lambert – out of work since his departure from Aston Villa in February, has already held initial talks with Blackburn, talks which are believed to have gone well although he is also reported to be in discussions with managerless Queens Park Rangers as they look to swiftly replace Chris Ramsey.
Rovers’ supporters would no doubt see Lambert as an ideal candidate given his successful time at Norwich which saw them decimate the championship on their way to the Premier League in 2011.
Former player Sherwood would also be a popular choice – another to have lost his job at Villa this year, but his lack of experience at this level may work against him.
Moyes’ late inclusion into the running is something of a surprise, and it would be hard to imagine that he would be interested in taking a job in England’s second tier given his last three high-profile managerial positions at Everton, Manchester United and Real Sociedad.
The next Sky BET Blackburn manager odds :
Paul Lambert 1/8
David Moyes 11/2
Slavisa Jokanovic 10/1
Tim Sherwood 14/1
Alan Stubbs 20/1
Ryan Giggs 25/1