Blackburn Rovers: Dion Sanderson concern raised amid Josh Sargent threat ahead of Norwich City | OneFootball

Rovers will have their hands full trying to keep one of the Championships top marksmen quiet this weekend

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Blackburn Rovers host Norwich City this weekend at Ewood Park, in what will be Valerien Ismael’s first match in charge of the Lancashire side.

The Frenchman was appointed as the successor to the departed John Eustace earlier this week, with the short-term remit to get the former Premier League Champions to consolidate their place in the top six of the Championship.

With the Canaries four points and four places behind them heading into the weekend, the new man in the dugout really needs to hit the ground running on Saturday, with the visitors’ wealth of attacking talent eager to make their mark when they travel to the north west.

With that in mind, we asked Football League World’s Rovers fan pundit Simon Middlehurst how he expects his side to deal with the likes of Josh Sargent and Borja Sainz when the two go head-to-head.

Blackburn Rovers worries issued as Josh Sargent comes up against makeshift defence

Despite the departure of Eustace to join relegation-threatened Derby County, Blackburn’s play-off ambitions remain very much intact heading into the final few games of the season, with their destiny very much in their own hands with two months left to play.

A lot of that success comes down to the fact that Rovers have one of the sternest backlines in the second tier this season, with just 34 goals conceded in their 34 league matches, and Aynsley Pears keeping 13 clean sheets in the process.

With Danny Batth and Dom Hyam at the back, the top six side have been a tough nut to crack with the experienced duo marshalling the backline, with Dion Sanderson adding extra reinforcement after joining on loan from Birmingham City in January.

With Batth missing the last few games with a hamstring issue, it looks as if Sanderson will continue in the heart of defence, but Middlehurst isn’t fully convinced by what he has seen of the new recruit thus far, compared to the tried and tested method from the first part of the season.

When asked about the Rovers’ backline for the weekend, Simon told FLW: “I would be more confident if it was Dom Hyam and Danny Batth at the back.

“Dion Sanderson doesn’t look as assured and our defence doesn’t look as confident when he is in. It will be interesting to see how it is, and hopefully Sanderson has a good game.

“He has shown glimpses of quality, but for me Hyam and Batth would be the two that I would rather have at the back when it comes to Josh Sargent.”

Josh Sargent offers plenty of threat to Blackburn Rovers

With seven goals in his last six league outings, Sargent has returned to fitness in a rich vein of form, having been on the sidelines from late October until the start of the new year.

The USA International bagged a brace against Stoke City last time out to help City make it just one defeat in their last six league games, as they aim to keep pace with the teams in the play-off places.

With four points separating themselves and the top six, everyone at Ewood Park on Saturday will know how much is at stake during the 90 minutes, with any dropped points proving costly at this time in the season.

Although the Norfolk side have only won twice away from Carrow Road since the end of September, Middlehurst is under no illusion that his side will have it easy this weekend, with a player at the peak of his powers wanting to get on the scoresheet once again.

Simon added: “Josh Sargent is a quality player, a quality Championship player, so I can imagine it being a busy day for our defence with the form he is in.”

Even though Norwich are in inconsistent form in recent weeks, Johannes Hoff Thorup's side are still in the play-off mix, and if they are going to take three points back to Norfolk, then Sargent will have to be on top form and will likely have to continue his scoring streak.