Rovers have entered the 2nd round of the Carabao Cup for the second time in the last four years following a 3-1 win over Coventry City in Round One, courtesy of goals from Corry Evans, Richie Smallwood and Dominic Samuel.
The 2nd round draw took place live on Sky Sports and included the two remaining Championship sides – Hull City & Middlesbrough – who directly advanced to the 2nd round as they were the highest finishing teams from the Championship, as a result of being relegated in 18th and 19th in the 2016-17 Premier League, respectively.
Rovers – ball #16 in the draw – were pitted at home against local rivals Burnley in an East Lancashire Derby, who got a bye through to the Second Round due to their Premier League status. The derby is set to take place at Ewood Park on the week commencing August 21, with a confirmed date to be set in the near future, along with ticket information.
Rovers have a long history with their local rivals, who separate them by just 11 miles. However, despite Rovers boasting a 35 year undefeated record over their bitter rivals, the last three meetings between the two sides have ended poorly for the Blues, with the streak ending in 2014, as the Clarets’ picked up a memorable 2-1 victory at Ewood Park en-route to securing a place in the 2014-15 Premier League.
Nevertheless, despite not beating Burnley since March 2010, where a David Dunn penalty broke Burnley hearts to give Rovers a 1-0 victory, the recent change in fortunes for both sides will no doubt make the tie a highly anticipated one, due to the renewed optimism that has surrounded Blackburn & their fans. In addition, it will be interesting to see how Burnley set out their stall after selling striker Andre Gray to fellow Premier League side Watford for a healthy fee of £18.5m.
