Burton Albion v Blackburn Rovers Betting Tips: Clough’s men can do the business

These two sides have the primary aim of surviving in the Championship this season and so this match on Friday night is absolutely vital to both of them.

Burton are currently five points above the drop-zone thanks to a couple of excellent recent results which have seen them take unlikely points off play-off hopefuls Norwich City and Derby County. They have also lost just once in their last four league matches.

The Brewers are not the most attacking side in the division and average just a goal per game. Defensively though they are pretty solid and, although they have conceded 46 goals in 33 league matches, this is actually the 15th-best record in the division – pretty good for a newly-promoted team who are simply looking to stay up.

Nigel Clough’s men have made their home ground of the Pirelli Stadium a difficult venue to go to and it is no coincidence that Burton have taken more than 65% of their points at home so far this campaign. Furthermore, they have conceded just 16 goals on home turf in the league.

Blackburn have replaced the recently departed Owen Coyle with former West Bromwich Albion manager Tony Mowbray to try and save themselves from relegation to the third tier. Rovers currently sit 23rd in the league, three points off safety. However, they do have two games in hand over the majority of teams in and around them.

Mowbray is certainly an interesting appointment given that Blackburn are having trouble at the back this season. The former Coventry boss is hardly a manager who pays much attention to the defence and he has joined a team who’ve both leaked goals (49 in 3) and struggled to keep clean sheets (four).

Rovers proved in their weekend match against Manchester United that they can score goals, however, whether they can do it on a consistent basis in the Championship is another issue.

Away form has been problematic for Rovers and they have taken just 9 points from 15 league matches this season – losing 67% of their league games away from Ewood Park.

This will be a nervy match for both teams given the circumstances and Blackburn should have a boost with Mowbray coming in. However, Burton have found a way of taking points from potentially difficult matches and I would back them to do so again here at the decent price of 13/10.

Read more from Thomas here.