Blackpool vs Blackburn Rovers: A closer look at the Rovers

Blackburn Rovers are next up to face Blackpool at Bloomfield Road where the hosts have won two of their last three games.

Tony Mowbray’s men have had a superb start to the campaign that sees them occupy the final play-off spot, a shock to many given Mowbray’s stock was relatively low with supporters and pundits alike in pre-season.

So how exactly have Blackburn become much more of a free-flowing attacking unit and what can Blackpool expect for the forthcoming fixture?

South American flair

Ben Brereton-Diaz is producing the finest numbers in his professional career since his first international cap with Chile and he has been the focal point of everything good about Rovers’ campaign so far.

Nine goals from 7.52xG sees him as the Championship’s second top scorer, only behind Aleksandar Mitrovic with the Fulham man scoring 10 goals so far this campaign.

To put this into perspective, Blackpool’s best attacking outlet has been Shayne Lavery with four goals from 3.97xG, so to think how impressive Lavery has been, Brereton-Diaz has posted double the output.

There is no doubt that Diaz looks more nimble in his attacking play and his link-up play has been much more efficient compared to season’s prior and this has made him a different animal.

Blackpool have tended to struggle against more physical strikers this season, but they will take positives from their ability to limit Mitrovic against Fulham, hoping for a similar outcome this time around with Brereton-Diaz.

More selective on the ball

There has clearly been a major tactical shift from Mowbray this season as he looks for his side to force turnovers higher up the park and is happy for the opposition to have possession in non-threatening areas.

A stark indicator of this is in the possession stats where Blackburn currently have the lowest percentage possession in the division with 42.8% for the 2021/22 campaign, compared to the 2020/21 season where they posted 57.4%, only behind league winners Norwich City.

This shift from looking to control possession through the thirds in order to build up attacks patiently, into a more fluid, structured unit off the ball that looks to capitalise on opposition errors, has paid dividends allowing his progressive attacking players, who thrive in counter-attacking situations, to play to their strengths.

Another thing to note is that Blackburn are more selective with their shots so far this campaign, another indicator of picking their moments.

An average of 9.05 shots per 90 this campaign with 43.4% on target, compared to 11.87 shots per 90 with 37.4% on target from last season, highlights that the Rovers are taking fewer potshots from unrealistic positions as they struggle to break down a low block.

Clearly, Mowbray has understood that his squad looks a more effective unit in counter-attacking situations rather than trying to break down a low block, controlling possession in the middle third.

Taking more risks

With the way Rovers have decided to play this season, holding a higher line in order to squeeze the pitch and force turnovers from the opposition in order to create chances, this has left opportunities for the opposition to exploit at the back.

They have conceded the most goals of the current top six this season so far with 12 and there are relative parallels with Blackpool’s style of play when it comes to a high risk, high reward strategy out of possession.

14.59 expected goals against compared to Blackpool’s 14.99xGA highlights their ability to concede high-quality chances, but they give these allowances in order to maximise their pressure on the front foot and trust in their goalscoring exploits to outscore the opposition anyway.

Their passing rate of 11.3 per minute of possession is the fifth-lowest in the division and speaks to their direct approach once they win the ball back. This does not come in aimless long ball form as they try to force play through the lines on the ground in order to find the likes of Joe Rothwell as a creative outlet.

They have the fourth-highest amount of ball losses this season with 1138 indicating their happiness to take risks with possession in order to force quick counter-attacks, hence their ability to concede chances too.

On the eye

From watching a number of their games in the build-up, and having reported on them last season, it is clear that the shackles are off to some extent with a squad that has always threatened to play in an expansive fashion.

Knowing that the tactical shape is set up to take risks in order to reap high rewards, it has given technical players like Rothwell, Diaz, Tyrhys Dolan and John Buckley much more of a license to express themselves on the ball.

Whilst they have conceded a fair number of chances in comparison to their high league position, Ryan Nyambe and Darragh Lenihan have again showcased their defensive qualities with Nyambe in particular being able to progress the ball well off the back of that.

Blackburn are an exciting team to watch right now, but coming up against a Blackpool side who like to take risks and press with high intensity themselves will present a firm challenge to a free-scoring Rovers side.

Rovers’ clinical edge will cause concern for a Seasiders’ team that have been wasteful in recent times when opportunities have arisen, much to Neil Critchley’s anger in his post-match press conference against Hull City.

Team News

Fortunately for Blackpool the aforementioned Lenihan will miss the game at Bloomfield Road as he recovers from a groin injury, with assist king Joe Rothwell, who has become a more combative presence this season, a potential doubt after he came off injured in the midweek defeat to Huddersfield Town.

Ryan Nyambe was taken off with concussion in that defeat so Rovers have a number of defensive concerns before the trip to the Fylde Coast and losing that stability in the backline was a major factor as to why they suffered their first defeat since late August.

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