The EFL Championship returns with a full card of fixtures on Good Friday, but will it be an Easter weekend to remember for promotion chasing Ipswich Town?
At the top of the EFL Championship, three sides are battling it out for the two automatic promotion places.
Two, Leicester City and Leeds United, are seeking to bounce back into the Premier League at the first attempt while, in stark contrast, Ipswich Town are just a few wins away from back-to-back promotions.
After four seasons in the third-tier, their longest exile from the top two divisions since the ‘50s, the Tractor Boys were finally promoted back to the Championship a year ago.
Now, against all odds and expectations, Kieran McKenna’s side are on the cusp of going straight through this league and back into the elite of English football.
Last time out, the Blues demolished Sheffield Wednesday 6-0 at Portman Road, with both Omari Hutchinson and Ali Al-Hamadi bagging braces, their biggest league win at this level since 2011.
So, since a wobble in January and February, Ipswich have now won six of their last seven, their sole defeat during this period coming in Cardiff.
This leaves the Tractor Boys third, a point below both Leicester and Leeds, with only eight games to go.
They’ll host fourth-placed Southampton on Easter Monday, before the small matter of an Old Farm derby the following weekend, so can Ipswich start a huge week and a bit with a vital victory?
Blackburn Rovers meantime finished seventh last season, missing out on the play-offs by virtue of goal difference alone, but are now more concerned by matters at the opposite end of the table.
Last month, the Venkys decide to sack manager Jon Dahl Tomasson, he’s now in charge of Sweden, appointing John Eustace, available following his ridiculous sacking by Birmingham in October.
The very next day, Blackburn beat Stoke 3-1, although Eustace has not enjoyed a victory since, albeit six of his eight matches in charge subsequently have ended in draws.
As a result, the Riversiders are 17th, although they’re not sat comfortably just yet, given that there’s only a three point gap between them and Huddersfield in the drop zone.
Rovers still have to play all of the top four in their eight remaining fixtures, so are not out of the mire by any stretch of the imagination.
Ipswich won the reverse fixture 4-3 in September, so have won three of their last six encounters with Blackburn, losing only one, but are seeking to complete a first league-double over Rovers since 91/92, a season in which both were promotion to the top division.
That won’t be happening this time round, but can the Tractor Boys enhance their Premier League ambitions by claiming victory at Ewood Park?
Ipswich Town to win
As outlined, we are expecting Ipswich Town to leave Lancashire victorious, continuing their excellent form.
Hosts Blackburn have won only one of their last 17, this coming against fellow-strugglers Stoke, so we cannot see how John Eustace’s team will be able to stop Kieran McKenna’s in-form men.
Both teams to score and over 2.5 goals
If you’re tuning into this one at 5:30pm (GMT) on Good Friday, you should be treated to a high-scoring affair.
Their encounters in Suffolk ended 4-3 to the hosts, Massimo Luongo the match-winner, meaning five of the last 11 encounters between the pair have seen four goals or more, featuring 35 goals in total.
Nine of Ipswich’s last ten fixtures have produced three goals or more, while this has been the case if 68.2% of their matches across all competitions so far this season.
Meanwhile, 71% of Blackburn’s fixtures this season have witnessed three goals or more.
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