Blackburn Rovers target mid-table move against Cardiff City

Blackburn Rovers can move up to 12th in the Championship with a home win over Cardiff City, who are fighting to climb out of the relegation zone.

Blackburn Rovers can climb towards the Championship's mid-table with a win over Cardiff City at Ewood Park this Saturday. Tony Mowbray's side sit 16th on nine points, and victory would lift them four places and to 12 points. The team has scored 8 goals in 9 games, averaging 88.9 minutes per goal. Their next fixture after this is a trip to face Norwich City at Carrow Road on Saturday, 18 October.

Team news and injuries

Mowbray confirmed a significant blow for midfielder Adam Forshaw, who faces hip surgery and a long spell out. "He's had some scans, it's a hip issue," the manager said. "I don't really want to speculate, I'm not a medical person, but he's going to probably have a procedure on that to help him." Scott Wharton is set for an Under-21s appearance next week, while Mathias Jorgensen and Augustus Kargbo are nearing returns. Yuki Ohashi remains a few weeks away. Cardiff will be without the suspended Krystian Bielik, with Calum Chambers, Alex Robertson, Rubin Colwill and Yousef Salech injured.

Tactical tweak and form

Mowbray is expected to switch back to a 4-4-1-1 formation, with Andri Gudjohnsen returning from international duty to lead the line. Todd Cantwell will operate behind him. The change follows a 2-2 draw at Portsmouth before the break, where Oladapo Afolayan and Ryoya Morishita scored. Afolayan is the team's top scorer this season with three goals. Rovers' recent form shows one win, two draws and two losses from their last five games.

The opposition and stakes

Cardiff, promoted from League One last season, ended a four-game winless run by beating Charlton Athletic 3-1. They sit 21st, just two points above the drop zone. A win for the visitors would take them to ten points. The last league meeting at Ewood Park was a 2-1 win for Cardiff in March 2025, but Rovers won the reverse fixture 3-1 later that year. Blackburn's current squad details are available on our squad page. The match kicks off at - 3pm on Saturday, 10 October.