Before the 2017/18 League One season kicked off, Blackburn Rovers were seen as huge favourites to secure immediate promotion back to The Championship following their relegation last season. However, it has been a remarkably poor start to the season for Rovers under the management of Tony Mowbray, and they are in desperate need of three points to get their season underway.
Blackburn Rovers began the campaign with a tricky away fixture at Southend United which they eventually lost 2-1 despite mounting a second-half comeback. However, it was the 3-1 defeat at home to Doncaster Rovers the week after that has really caused concern at Ewood Park that this season may not be as straightforward as many people thought.
As for Bradford City, they have been knocking on the door of The Championship for several years now and have made another strong start to this campaign. They have maintained a 100% record so far with wins over Blackpool and Gillingham and will fancy their chances of picking up another three points against Blackburn at Valley Parade on Saturday.
We take a look at five players who could potentially have a significant influence on the outcome of Saturday’s match between these two promotion candidates.
5. Danny Graham
The 32-year-old striker is arguably far too good for League One, and it, therefore, comes as a surprise that he is yet to open his account for Rovers this season. He scored seven goals in 18 appearances for Blackburn Rovers last season as they failed to survive in the second tier which proves he does have the quality to find the back of the net.
It is surely only a matter of time before Graham does get his first goal of the season as he will want to get it out of the way as soon as possible. This could signal bad news for Bradford’s defence as if Graham is up for the physical battle, and they could be set for a difficult afternoon.
