West Brom v Blackburn preview: Tony Mowbray expects one certainty against former club

John Eustace has long been touted for a move away from Ewood Park and is set to complete a move to lowly strugglers Derby, leaving behind uncertainty in Lancashire.

It means the visitors are without a boss for the crunch clash against fellow play-off hopefuls Albion as home boss Tony Mowbray prepares to face the club he served longest in management.

Mowbray knows more than most the challenge Rovers will pose regardless of who is sitting in the away dugout at The Hawthorns. Long-serving club staff Damien Johnson and David Lowe worked under Mowbray in his five-year tenure at Ewood Park between 2017 and 2022, which included promotion back to the Championship.

Several members of the squad were guided through the early days of their Blackburn careers by Mowbray. On the other side, new Baggies loan frontman Adam Armstrong, who turned 28 this week after marking his debut in style on Saturday, enjoyed several fruitful years under Mowbray at Rovers.

"I've been back several times, we went with Sunderland and won 3-1 the year before last," Mowbray said. "The infrastructure is really good, they won the Premier League in 1995 which seems a long time ago - but not in my mind!

"What they achieved then is still there as a legacy, the training centre, academy just down the hill half-a-mile away, the quality of everything is really good. I still talk to a lot of the people, the lady who was my secretary, they keep in touch. You develop such close working relationships.

"I've got a lot of affection for Blackburn Rovers. I know John Eustace pretty well, we speak pretty regularly. I know he had one or two situations he was trying to deal with and it looks like he's moving club, whether there's been confirmation of that.

"It's an interesting scenario playing Blackburn, potentially without a head coach, but I know the coaching staff behind the scenes, they will come with a very focused team. People like Lewis Travis in the team will have nothing but aggression and intent. They're sixth, so it's a big game for both clubs.

"They will think if they don't get a result we'll create a little gap and if they do it keeps it really tight.

"It's a home game, we've done pretty well at home, we'll try to dominate again and play in their half as much as we can."

Mowbray added: "I worked with a lot of their players. Travis and (John) Buckley, (Scott) Wharton has done his cruciate, Hayden Carter, young players were in the under-18s when I got there and now Travis is captain. They are good, focused lads that work really hard.

"I've got no thought they will come anything other than fully focused and trying to win as footballers do. They are professionals and will do the job. I've seen them win twice at Middlesbrough this season. Very well structured and well organised. Their league position shows the team they are."

Blackburn sit two points below Albion after a stuttering run of five defeats from six, with a victory over rivals Preston in that sequence.

Rovers rested several players during Sunday's FA Cup fourth round home defeat against Wolves, 24 hours after the Baggies were in action.

The club were busy in the January window with six additions to the first-team squad, including three eye-catching loans. Former Blues captain and Wolves defender Dion Sanderson arrived, as well as former Premier League strikers Emmanuel Dennis, from Nottingham Forest, and Luton's Cauley Woodrow.

Albion welcome Mason Holgate back from illness, a timely return given Kyle Bartley begins a three-match suspension.