Preston North End should fear one big Blackburn Rovers factor - it’s seriously impressive | OneFootball

Preston must be wary of Blackburn Rovers this Friday if they want to push for promotion

Preston North End are one of the form teams in the Championship right now - but they must not underestimate Blackburn Rovers ahead of their Lancashire Derby this week.

Valerien Ismael’s side will not be favoured by many based on both teams’ current run of form, but they have fashioned some impressive results when on the road so far this season.

Despite the fact that there isn't an awful lot of points between the relegation battle and the play-off picture, Blackburn are currently in the botom half of the Championship table, some six points from the drop zone but only nine points from the top six - with a game in-hand against Ipswich Town at Ewood Park also needing to be factored in.

But it is their results at their home stadium that is proving to be somewhat of a concern, rather than when they head on their travels.

Paul Heckingbottom’s side have momentum on their side, having won three of their last four in the league, but it won’t be a straightforward affair at Deepdale on Friday evening when the two clubs meet.

The Lilywhites will be brimming with expectation going into this meeting, as victory will move them into the automatic promotion places, at least temporarily ahead of Saturday's fixtures.

But defeat would be a real setback given the gap between the two clubs in the table, and to have their promotion push dented by a local rival.

Blackburn Rovers’ strong away form will give them confidence ahead of Preston North End clash

Blackburn have won just one of their seven home fixtures so far this season, drawing one and losing the other five - and that's perhaps something to be concerned about.

This has given them the fourth-worst record in their own ground for the campaign so far, with only Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday and Norwich City faring worse when they're on home soil.

Conversely though, their form away from home has been surprisingly strong and has carried them out of the bottom three of the overall Championship table.

Only Coventry City and Stoke City have earned more points away from home, and the two have also played one more fixture on the road so far this term.

Their victories have also come against the likes of Hull City, Leicester City, Watford and Bristol City, making for very commendable results on paper, but it will also create some bemusement as to why they can't do it at their own stadium.

These wins weren’t total flukes either, with Rovers creating an expected goals (xG) of 8 across the four games, making for a total of seven actual goals.

Meanwhile, Ismael’s side conceded an xG of 3 for a tally of zero goals actually conceded. So, while they have been a bit fortunate to take four clean sheets from those individual games, their defence has certainly been impressive regardless - although that area of the pitch has been stretched with a fresh injury for Scott Wharton.

Preston North End will need to be at their best to beat Blackburn Rovers

If Preston want to establish real credentials as a promotion contender, then Friday night would be a great time to do so.

A victory over their local rivals that moves them to second in the table, at least before both Middlesbrough and Stoke City play later in the weekend, would show they’re serious about competing at the top of the table this year.

The Lilywhites have not finished inside the top six since 2009 under Alan Irvine, with that ending in a two-legged semi-final defeat at the hands of Kevin Blackwell's Sheffield United, and their closest result since has been a seventh-placed finish in Alex Neil's first season in charge in 2017-18.

Much of the last 10 years has seen PNE finish in the middle reaches of the Championship table, but they really struggled last year for the most part after Ryan Lowe's early resignation, and it shows the progress that Paul Heckingbottom has made with the squad he created over the summer to try and refresh things at Deepdale.

But the real test of this team will come in the next six weeks, as they will play a gruelling schedule of 11 games between Friday night’s clash with Rovers and their January 4 meeting away to Bristol City.

Getting that run off with a win against such a strong away side in Blackburn will be a marker that they can compete at the top, and given the early struggles of the likes of Leicester City and Southampton, the club may not get as good a chance as fighting for a top two finish again for another long time.

As we’ve seen in recent years, relegated top flight sides can rack up wins and points in the early stages and cut themselves adrift of the rest of the division - Burnley and Leeds United were great examples of that last season, having both eclipsed 100 points.

Their position in the table adds some extra importance to PNE's clash with Blackburn, but they must be wary of Ismael’s side, despite their lowly league position.