Blackburn Rovers v Middlesbrough: promotion chase meets survival fight | OneFootball

Blackburn Rovers host Middlesbrough in the Championship on Saturday, 21 March 2026 at Ewood Park, with the visitors pushing for automatic promotion and the hosts seeking breathing room above the relegation places.

Blackburn Rovers and Middlesbrough arrive with contrasting agendas. The hosts are 19th, the visitors second, and their last meeting on 26 December 2025 ended 0-0.

Rovers' recent run shows three defeats in five, alongside a draw with Portsmouth and a morale-boosting win at Millwall. Boro have taken points in four of their past five, including emphatic away victories at Birmingham City and Queens Park Rangers, with draws against Leicester City and Bristol City.

Team news matters. Blackburn Rovers list injuries for Aynsley Pears, Ryan Hedges, Lewis Miller, Andri Gudjohnsen, Hayden Carter and Augustus Kargbo. For Boro, Darragh Lenihan, Alfie Jones, Samuel Silvera and Hayden Hackney are out, with Hackney on seven league assists this season.

On the numbers, Boro average 1.6 goals per game, keep the ball with 59% possession and pass at 84.69% accuracy, so they may look to control the game and feed Morgan Whittaker, who has 11 league goals and six assists. Rovers score 0.9 per game and concede 1.3, but they do deliver plenty from wide areas, with Ryoya Morishita on seven assists and open-play crossing a consistent outlet.

A win would take Blackburn Rovers to 45 points and could ease pressure near the relegation zone. Victory for Boro would move them to 73 points and strengthen their grip on the top two.