Blackburn Rovers

QPR host Blackburn in the Championship on Tuesday night (19:45 GMT) seeking to avoid a third straight defeat, while Rovers are aiming for back-to-back wins.

Rovers lie fifth and while they are 13 points adrift of fourth-placed Sunderland, they are at the head of a pack of eight teams separated by just four points in the race for the top-six.

The Rs start the day in 14th but know a victory would take them within three points of the play-off places.

• QPR have lost both of their past two home league games against Blackburn, never before losing three in a row.

• Blackburn Rovers have won five of their past six league games against QPR (L1), keeping four clean sheets during that time.

• QPR's 0-2 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday ended a five-game home winning run in the Championship. The Hoops haven't lost successive home league matches without scoring within a single season since April 2023 (run of 3).

• Blackburn have lost three of their past four away league outings (D1), as many as their previous 12 on the road (W6 D3 L3).

• Only against Cardiff City (7) and Hull City (6) has Blackburn's Andreas Weimann scored more goals in his English league career than he has against QPR (5). That said, the Austrian has failed to score in his last 10 league appearances against the Hoops since bagging a brace for Bristol City in August 2018.

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Nottingham Forest striker Emmanuel Dennis is close to a loan move to Blackburn Rovers.

Rovers have been interested in g him during this window, but earlier on Monday, there was not a huge amount of confidence that the deal would get done.

However, they have managed to find a breakthrough, with Dennis poised for a move to Ewood Park to help the Championship play-off challengers.

Dennis has not played for Nottingham Forest this term and has spent time on loan at Watford and Turkish side Basaksehir in the past two seasons.

Image source, Rex Features

John Eustace says Blackburn have not finished trying to get deadline day deals done.

"The club are working very hard to get another couple of players in today, I hope," the Rovers boss told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"I know (recruitment team) Rudy (Gestede), Steve (Waggott), Adam Owen and Suhail (Pasha) are working really hard to get the players in so fingers crossed, that will happen."

Rovers have also signed former Nottingham Forest left-back Yuri Ribeiro on loan from Braga, with the hope a deal done in time for him to face Wolves in the FA Cup on Sunday.

Rovers keeper Joe Hilton's could be on the move away from Ewood Park before 23:00 GMT while the club are also hoping to add another forward.

"'I think you can see that's where we're light. That would be great," said Eustace. O-chan (Yuki Ohashi) is still 3-4 weeks away and Becky (Owen Beck) is our only left-back at the moment so those are the areas we'll certainly look to improve on."

Image source, Getty Images

Blackburn boss John Eustace says he was pleased to see his side beat Lancashire rivals Preston North End.

Rovers were 2-1 winners at Ewood Park thanks to Makhtar Gueye's first-half header and Todd Cantwell's penalty after the break, before Brad Potts' stoppage-time finish gave the visitors late hope.

The victory moved Eustace's side into the the play-off places.

"I thought we were excellent and should have been out of sight in the first half," Eustace told BBC Radio Lancashire:

"We played some fantastic football and I was really pleased to go in at half-time 1-0 up, and the way the lads battled and stuck together in the second half I thought we deserved the victory.

"We've conceded a sloppy goal at the end which is disappointing, but it's a local derby so I'm really pleased we could get three points and do the fans proud."

Image source, Getty Images

Blackburn Rovers are closing in on the signature of Cesena forward Augustus Kargbo, BBC Radio Lancashire reports.

The 25-year-old Sierra Leone international has scored three goals in 18 appearances for the Serie B side this season, though they all came in the opening nine games of the campaign.

It has been reported Rovers have tabled a bid of just under £700k for the versatile forward, who has scored five times for his country in 21 caps.

BBC Radio Lancashire sports editor Andy Bayes said: "He'll arrive in the country (on Thursday night) and undergo a medical in the morning. Work permit also to sort, but the deal is agreed."

Rovers have taken only five points from their past nine games, losing the last three in succession, scoring just seven goals in total in that spell to slip out of the play-off places.

Preston make the 10-mile trip east to Blackburn for an intriguing Lancashire derby on Friday night (20:00 GMT).

Rovers have dropped out of the play-off places to lie seventh, and though they remain eight places ahead of North End, they only have five points more.

• Blackburn have failed to win any of their past five league games against Preston (D3 L2), with both losses during that time coming at Ewood Park.

• Preston have lost just one of their past eight away league games against Blackburn (W5 D2), failing to score in just one of those matches.

• Rovers have lost each of their past three league games, last enduring a longer losing run in December 2023 (four games).

• After beating Watford and Middlesbrough both 2-1 in their past two league games, Preston will be looking to win three Championship matches in succession for the first time since February 2024.

• Altogether, 17 different players have scored for Blackburn in the Championship this season; the t-most for any team in the division (excluding own goals), along with Hull City.

Blackburn Rovers, Preston North End and Stoke will have to wait until later this week to find out whether Liverpool will let 19-year-old forward Jayden Danns leave on loan. (The Athletic - subscription required), external

Want more transfer news and rumours from the EFL? Read Tuesday's gossip column here.

Andy Bayes
Sports Editor, BBC Radio Lancashire

Saturday's defeat at Bristol City is becoming a familiar story.

Nobody is doubting the desire, the work-rate, the will to win, the playing through the pain barrier - but for the sixth time in nine matches, after six wins in a row before that, Rovers were on the wrong end of a scoreline that has eventually removed them from the top six.

For the second Saturday in a row, a wicked deflection beating a helpless Aynsley Pears consigned them to defeat.

John Eustace told me after the match that defender Owen Beck is basically running on empty, and with Harry Pickering still more than a month away from returning he had to change his system to a back three. Beck isn't the only one feeling the effects of both a busy schedule and an inability to rotate.

Four players were scanned for various knocks on Tuesday after the defeat by Coventry. All four played at Ashton Gate, Callum Brittain completing the whole match and continuing his excellent form in the process.

But with Scott Wharton, Hayden Carter, Harry Pickering, Sondre Tronstad, Todd Cantwell, Arnor Sigurdsson and Yuki Ohashi missing, the options for Eustace remain extremely limited.

The transfer window business is expected to ramp up nationwide over the next week. Eustace is in no doubt where his priorities lie.

Number one has to be a striker, number two is an attacking midfield player.

Rovers lack a cutting edge, and for all their good build-up play they are not working goalkeepers enough in games.

Eustace would also like another left-sided defender. If they could get one equally comfortable at centre-back, that would help.

It's certainly a case of quality wanted, not quantity. Players who might just have that X-factor to help them sneak in to fifth or sixth spot in a very congested table.

Frustration is growing among the fanbase regarding the wait for new faces to add to Dion Sanderson and Adam Forshaw's arrivals.

The high-profile winter-window registration errors of the past two years are still fresh in the mind.

Adding players to impact the starting XI can only help them in the long run.

It's over to the powers that be to provide their ambitious head coach with what he feels is needed to sustain an unlikely play-off push.

Image source, Rex Features

John Eustace hopes to boost his Blackburn Rovers squad with up to three new additions to help them halt their dip in form.

Rovers suffered a third straight Championship defeat after they were edged out 2-1 at Bristol City.

Speaking to BBC Radio Lancashire, head coach Eustace said: "The spirit the boys showed was outstanding - we had a couple more drop out just before kick-off. The group showed great spirit and togetherness and i thought we were really good today.

"We want to be competitive and play our style of football and against a good team be difficult to play against and I thought we were.

"I certainly don't think we deserved to lose the game but its getting a bit of a broken record and it's important we just stick together and keep performing like that.

"When we get a few more players back from injury, and hopefully we can bring two or three good quality players into the group as well, things will change.

"We've got to brush ourselves off and get ready to go again. Forty six games in the Championship, you're going to get your highs and lows and we're going through a difficult moment with results but performances are there.

"Everyone can see that, we're a very good team and we have just got to keep believing in what we're doing."

Image source, Getty Images

Blackburn Rovers chief executive Steve Waggott says the club are actively looking to bolster their squad in the January transfer window as injuries continue to plague the side.

Rovers have made two winter gs so far - Plymouth Argyle's Adam Forshaw and a loan deal for Birmingham City's Dion Sanderson.

In a statement issued to BBC Radio Lancashire, Waggott said Rovers are looking to "keep intact the togetherness of the squad" by selecting those who would be "a good fit".

"The aim has always been to look at improving the attacking threat of the team, but with injuries that have been sustained since the turn of the year, we are now also looking at other potential positions and available options until our injured players return to full fitness," the statement said.

"As is always the case during this very limited January winter window, most clubs are looking for the same areas of improvement, but we will continue to pursue our list of targets in the hope that we can secure players to add strength and depth to this hard-working and honest group of players for the remainder of the season."

Attacking threat remains a priority for Rovers, however, and they have been recently linked to Cesena forward Augustus Kargbo (pictured above) as well as Coventry City's Brandon Thomas-Asante earlier in the window.

Blackburn have only won one of their past eight league matches, losing their past two but clinging on to a play-off spot.

Blackburn Rovers have bid £675k for Cesena forward Augustus Kargbo. (Sky Sports, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column.

Image source, Rex Features

John Eustace has been handed a fitness boost as Blackburn Rovers prepare to visit Bristol City on Saturday as keeper Aynsley Pears and Lewis Travis both return to the squad.

Pears missed the 2-0 defeat by Coventry on Tuesday through illness while defensive midfielder and skipper Travis has missed seven games with a hamstring injury picked up just before Christmas.

Eustace told BBC Radio Lancashire four other players had scans this week after injuries picked up on Tuesday.

It's better news than expected with Callum Brittain, Danny Batth and Joe Rankin-Costello having avoided serious injuries but they're considered doubts for Saturday's trip to Ashton Gate.

Amario Cozier-Duberry is fit to take his place in the squad, despite a knock on his back during the Coventry match.

Bristol City will welcome Blackburn Rovers to Ashton Gate on Saturday (15:00 GMT) for a game with big implications in the Championship play-off race.

The 9th-placed Robins are four points behind Rovers, who are sixth and occupying the final play-off spot.

• City have lost one of their past seven home league games against Blackburn Rovers (W4 D2 L1), winning this fixture last season 5-0 – the Robins' biggest-ever victory in this fixture's history.

• Blackburn won the reverse fixture 3-0 this season – they last did the league double over City in 2019-20, while they have never done so without conceding.

• City have won each of their past three home league games without conceding a goal. The Robins have not won four in succession at Ashton Gate whilst keeping a clean sheet in each since January 2004.

• Each of Blackburn's past six away league games have either been 1-0 (W3 D1 L2) or 1-1. They last scored more than once on the road against Cardiff in November (3-1), and last conceded more than once against Plymouth in October (1-2).

• City's Nahki Wells has scored more league goals against Blackburn in his Football League career than he has against any other opponent (9).