Blackburn vs Derby Prediction and Betting Tips: 11/10 & 9/2 picks for Championship Opener
The wait is over and the 2024/25 Championship season gets underway on Friday evening with Blackburn Rovers taking on newly promoted Derby County. The game can be seen live on Sky Sports at 8pm and below you can find our best bets.
Blackburn Rovers vs Derby County Predictions
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Rovers avoided relegation on the last day of the season and issues off the field continue with the financial security and the potential future of the Venky's uncertain. Sammie Szmodics could well be on his way before the end of the transfer window after his 27 league goals that saw him crowned Championship top scorer, while fellow attacker Sam Gallagher has also swapped Blackburn for Stoke.
Derby finished second in League One under the stewardship of Paul Warne and has strengthened his squad this summer with the notable additions of Kayden Jackson and Ben Osborn.
According to the bookmakers both teams may be involved in a relegation battle this season, however it is Rovers who are the favourites to start their campaign with a win priced at 5/4. The draw is chalked-up at 5/2, while a win for the Rams can be backed at 21/10.
The opening weekend is traditionally incredibly tricky to predict results and I have swerved the outcome at Ewood Park on Friday and have picked out some selections from the player props markets.
The first of those is a bet builder double that can be backed at 11/10 with Sky Bet, consisting of Harry Pickering to win 1+ foul and Hayden Carter to give away 1+ foul.
Only Sammie Szmodics was fouled more times for Blackburn last season than Pickering. The left-back isn’t afraid to get forward and taking a look at his data from the end of last term, he has been fouled at least once in all of his last eight Championship starts.
Hayden Carter was shown more yellow cards (11) than any other member of the Blackburn squad in 2023/24. The 24-year-old has given away 1+ foul in all of his last 11 league starts and with this same double being just 4/6 with Betfair, I make this a value play with Sky at 11/10.
I’ve also had a couple of quid on Derby County’s Nathaniel Mendez-Laing to win 2+ fouls on Friday night. The Guatemalan was a key figure last season with nine goals and 15 assists and is a handful for defenders.
When it comes to ‘fouls drawn’ Mendez-Laing cleared the 2+ line in three of his last six league appearances in League One. He can make an impact in the second tier for Derby at a higher level and with Sky Bet pricing this same selection at just 15/8, I feel we are getting a chunky offering out 9/2.
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