Blackburn come into this one off the back of a 3-0 friendly romp against Barnsley, but that was July, and friendlies are about fitness, not form. The real story is at Ewood Park, where they've been desperate to fix a soft underbelly at home. A new playing surface and fresh faces like speedster Jayden Fevrier and midfielder Sam Morsy suggest they know they've been too easy to play through on their own patch. But there's a nagging doubt: Tony Mowbray's side have injury worries — Aynsley Pears, Scott Wharton, Todd Cantwell and Augustus Kargbo have all been on fitness lists. That's a chunk of spine missing, and against a side with genuine promotion ambitions, that's a problem.

Middlesbrough, meanwhile, look like a team that's found its missing piece. Will Lankshear has scored all three of their goals this season — every single one. That's not a coincidence; that's a striker in the zone, a summer signing who's already living up to the Teesside hype. They edged Lincoln City 2-1 recently, which is exactly the kind of ugly, grinding win that promotion sides grind out in August. They're not blowing teams away, but they're finding a way. That's the hallmark of a side that believes. Boro travel with momentum, a clear identity, and a striker who can't stop scoring. Blackburn, by contrast, are still searching for their first real statement of the season.