Preview | Blackburn Rovers (H)
The Game
Argyle v Blackburn Rovers. Home Park. Saturday, 5 October. 3pm. Sky Bet Championship.
The Opposition
Blackburn, currently sixth in the table, began their season with a 4-2 home win over Derby County, setting a tone of high-scoring encounters early in the season. They followed this with a 6-1 win at Stockport County in the Carabao Cup, then a 2-2 draw at Norwich City in the league.
Rovers beat Oxford United 2-1, then lost to Blackpool in the Carabao Cup, before drawing 1-1 with local rivals Burnley, at Turf Moor.
Blackburn’s first clean sheet came in a 3-0 home win against Bristol City, and they also kept the opposition out in subsequent games against Preston North End and Queens Park Rangers, which they drew 0-0 and won 2-0 respectively.
Most recently, on Tuesday night, Blackburn suffered their first league defeat of the campaign, losing 3-0 at Coventry City. This was also the first time Rovers had failed to score this season.
The Gaffer
John Eustace took the Birmingham City manager's job in the summer of 2022, and in his first season at the helm, guided them to 17th position. He was, though, removed from his post in October, despite Blues being sixth in the league.
Eustace, after being linked with several vacancies, was appointed as Blackburn manager on 9 February, 2024.
Solihull-born Eustace had a playing career that took in stints at clubs such as Coventry City, Stoke City, Watford and Derby County, the vast majority of his career was played at the second-tier level.
His first managerial job was with Kidderminster Harriers, in the Vanarama National League, whom he led to two consecutive play-off appearances. He moved on to be assistant manager at Queens Park Rangers from 2018 to 2022, and later doubled up with being the assistant manager of the Ireland national team.
The Squad
Six players have started all eight of Blackburn’s league games, among them midfielder Lewis Travis. Midfielder Travis, 26, is the Rovers captain, and has played 233 games for the club for whom he has spent his whole professional career, save for a short loan at Ipswich Town at the end of last season. Travis has two goals this season.
Travis is likely to play in midfield alongside Sondre Tronstad. Now 29, Tronstad moved to Huddersfield Town from his native Norway in 2014, but never played for the Terriers, instead returning home to play for FK Haugesund. He then moved to Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem, before moving to Blackburn in the summer of 2023.
Leading the goalscoring charts for Blackburn is Japanese striker Yuki Ohashi (above). He began his career at Shonan Bellemare, scoring 24 times in 112 games, and moved to Sanfrecce Hiroshima in January. He signed for Blackburn this summer, and is off to a great start, scoring five times in all competitions.
Last Season’s Meetings
Argyle won 3-0 at Home Park when the sides met in September 2023. Finn Azaz, Ryan Hardie and Luke Cundle scored the goals. At Ewood Park in March, the sides drew 1-1, with Morgan Whittaker levelling following Sammy Szmodics’ early goal for Rovers.
Tickets
The game is sold out for home supporters. If you have a season ticket and cannot attend the match, you can make your ticket available via the Ticket Exchange and receive face value credit if your ticket is resold. Find out more about the Ticket Exchange.
Argyle TV
Argyle TV’s coverage will begin at 10am, with the Argyle Breakfast show, hosted by Erin Black and Aaron Cusack. They will bring you build-up, interviews, guests and features throughout the morning, from the Argyle TV studio.
Erin and Katie Middleton will be live at 2.30pm for the pre-match show, live on YouTube from pitchside, as the atmosphere for the fixture builds. Commentary for the game will be provided by Charlie Price and Ian Stonebridge.
Match passes to watch this game are available to international audiences and can be purchased here.
