Leonard drops out: The predicted Blackburn Rovers XI to face Hul
Jon Tomasson’s side will be looking to continue their unbeaten start to the season
Blackburn Rovers are unbeaten in all competitions this season, which could give them an advantage against Hull City.
Aynsley Pears is likely to retain his place as goalkeeper, showing that Tomasson values consistency and performance over reputation.
Tyrhys Dolan and Sam Szmodics have proven themselves as valuable attacking contributors and should keep their spots in the starting lineup.
Blackburn Rovers will be looking to continue their encouraging start to the Championship season on Saturday afternoon, as they host Hull City at Ewood Park.
Having come back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Rotherham United last weekend, Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side go into the game still unbeaten in all competitions so far this season.
Hull meanwhile, should go into this one on a high and with plenty of confidence, after their claiming their first win of the season with a 4-2 win over Sheffield Wednesday last time out.
That could make this a tricky encounter for the hosts, especially given the work they still need to do in the transfer market to ensure Tomasson still has a full strength squad to work with across the course of the campaign.
But just who could the Dane name in his side’s starting XI for this clash with the Tigers, based on who he currently has available to him?
In order to help find out, we’ve taken a look at the Blackburn Rovers starting lineup we think we could see against Hull on Saturday, right here
Goalkeeper: Aynsley Pears
Despite the signing of Leopold Wahlstedt, Pears kept his place bewteen the posts for Rovers at Rotherham last weekend.
Tomasson showed with his continued selection of Pears after Thomas Kaminski’s recovery from injury last season that he will not drop a player if he does not deserve to be, so Rovers’ new number one could retain his place in the XI against Hull
Left-Back: Harry Pickering
Pickering looks a certainty to start on the left-hand side of Blackburn’s defence on Saturday afternoon.
The 24-year-old has been the club’s first choice in that position ever since he arrived at Ewood Park, and with Jake Batty now out through injury, Tomasson does not have any alternatives to turn to in that position regardless.
Centre-Back: Dom Hyam
Hyam has been the standout figure at the heart of Blackburn’s defence since he joined the club last summer.
There is therefore little doubt that as the senior option in that position, he will once again be part of the starting lineup against the Tigers.
Centre-Back: Hayden Carter
Alongside Hyam at the centre of defence for Rovers on Saturday, will no doubt be Hayden Carter.
The academy graduate has made a place in the starting XI his own since the start of the calendar, so it would be a surprise to see him drop out of the side here.
Right-Back: Joe Rankin-Costello
Another academy graduate to have enjoyed a remarkable resurgence into the first-team picture at Blackburn in 2023, is Joe Rankin-Costello.
The 24-year-old looks to have now firmly established himself ahead of Callum Brittain in the pecking order at right-back, and should keep his spot in the side on Saturday, after an impressive showing at Rotherham.
Centre-Midfield: Adam Wharton
Even at such an early stage of his career, Adam Wharton looks undroppable for Blackburn when he is fit.
An influential performance in the centre of the park on his first league start of the season at Rotherham shows just how important he is to this side, meaning it would be a surprise if he does not retain his place in the starting lineup against Hull.
Centre-Midfield: Lewis Travis
With the emergence of Adam Wharton, John Buckley’s return from injury and the summer signing of Sondre Tronstad, Rovers’ captain does seem to have plenty of competition for a place in the XI right now.
However, it was Travis who got the nod ahead of Tronstad to keep his place in the starting lineup alongside Wharton against Rotherham, and having looked solid and reliable so far this season, there may be little need for that to change here.
Left-Wing: Tyrhys Dolan
It is still several weeks before summer signing Arnor Sigurdsson is expected to be fit and available to make his first-team debut for Rovers.
That ought to mean that Tyrhys Dolan should retain a spot on the left-hand side of Rovers’ attacking midfield for Saturday’s game, with that having been the position he has arguably looked his most threatening from in recent months.
Central-Attacking-Midfield: Sam Szmodics
It was an ultimate game of two halves at Rotherham for Szmodics, who missed a penalty, comitted an error leading to the Millers’ opening goal, and was booked all before half-time.
However, the 27-year-old showed the resilience and ability that has made him so popular since arrival at Blackburn in the second half to find the net twice, and salvage a point for his side against the Millers, the sort of contribution that will surely ensure he retains a place in the starting for this game.
Right-Wing: Ryan Hedges
While Dilan Markanday has started on the right-wing for Rovers in the Championship so far this season, Saturday could be a decent time to give Ryan Hedges the chance in that role.
The Welshman was introduced from the bench in the second half at Rotherham, and made a positive impact in helping Tomasson’s side complete their comeback at The New York Stadium, with the extra experience he provides potentially making a case for him to get an opportunity from the start this weekend.
Centre-Forward: Niall Ennis
Although 19-year-old Harry Leonard has been leading the line in the league for Rovers so far this season, this could be the time for NIall ennis to make his first Championship start for the club.
Having been working his way up to fitness since his summer move from Plymouth, Ennis impressed with a goal on his first start in the Carabao Cup win over Walsall, and backed that up from the bench against Rotherham, posing a threat and producing some good work in the build-up to Rovers’ equaliser. As a result, even if he cannot last the 90 minutes yet, it could be worth putting Ennis from the off against Hull, to at least give Blackburn a good chance of making a strong start and laying down a marker by taking control of the game.
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