Blackburn vs Liverpool Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Having gone away to Scottish side Hibernian and won by two goals to nil in their first pre-season friendly, Tony Mowbray’s Blackburn side, who’ve now returned to the Championship after finishing second in League One last season, will have gone into their second friendly against Port Vale feeling confident. Unfortunately, Rovers were unable to get the better of their League Two opposition on that occasion, so they’ll be hoping for better here.

After high-scoring wins against both Chester and Tranmere, Liverpool may have been a tad complacent against Bury on Saturday. Even away from the comforts of home, and even in pre-season, Jurgen Klopp’s men should’ve handed out a beating, though a 0-0 draw was the best they could manage. Results are largely irrelevant in pre-season, but with another game under their belts, the German boss will be hoping to see his side improve, especially in the final third.

Not only did Liverpool draw with Bury at the weekend, but they failed to really create an abundance of clear-cut chances. Even against deep-lying opposition, who set up to frustrate, Jurgen Klopp would’ve expected his side to create plenty of opportunities, though without their dynamic forward trio of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and the 17/18 Premier League golden boot winner Mohamed Salah, the Reds failed to take advantage in the final third. As the game wore on, they did fashion a few better openings, though gilt-edged chances remained elusive.

With their attacking failures against Bury fresh in the memory, it’s easy to think that Blackburn, who’re some way ahead of Bury in terms of quality, can hold their own in this friendly. What’s more, not only did Liverpool fail to make much offensive headway against Bury, but they also experienced a few dodgy moments at the back, so a Blackburn side not short of attacking quality shouldn’t be underestimated.

Blackburn are a championship side going up against one of the best teams in the Premier League; under normal circumstances the visitors would be almost impossible to oppose. However, with the aforementioned trio likely to remain absent for Liverpool, alongside a few other important players, the gap in quality between the two teams will be greatly reduced.

At the end of the day, this Blackburn team are no mugs; they were too good for League One last season, while they’ve lost just once on their own patch in 2018. With Liverpool still missing several key players, including their main front three, Blackburn are fancied to follow in the footsteps of Bury by keeping the score-line more than respectable. At the prices, ‘Blackburn +2 Handicap’ stands out.