New head coach James Collins, who has now had a full week of training with his young side, will be hoping his players can put in an improved performance following last weekend’s Premier League 2 defeat at Leicester City.
The two sides are evenly matched in Division 1 this season, with Wolves just three points and one place behind their opponents in the table. Wolves won the corresponding fixture away at Blackburn earlier in the season, with Taylor Perry scoring a last-minute winner for the development team.
The under-23s face Rovers at the FA’s national football centre after the match was moved from its original venue due to pitch conditions at AFC Telford United’s New Bucks Head.
*You can catch all the action as Wolves under-23s take on Blackburn Rovers this evening, with the game free to view worldwide via WolvesTV and the Wolves App.
On Friday evening, commentator Mikey Burrows will be joined by former Wolves goalkeeper Matt Murray ahead of kick-off with all the build-up to the match, before live coverage of the game itself from 7pm.
The live match stream can be found here, while supporters can also catch the action on the Wolves App – download it now on iOS here and on Android here.
WHEN
Friday 7pm
WHERE
St George’s Park, Burton
LAST THREE
Wolves
1-5 vs Leicester City (A)
2-3 vs Everton (A)
1-1 vs Brighton & Hove Albion (H)
Blackburn
1-2 vs Brighton & Hove Albion (H)
3-2 vs Newcastle United (A) PLIC
3-1 vs Leicester City (H)
WHAT THE BOSS THINKS
On a full week of training with his new team
“It’s been nice to get a full week of training in with them, having only had a couple of days leading up to the Leicester game.
“Last week, the first-team had the FA Cup game with Manchester United and a lot of our players were with the senior squad, so we had a very young team, and playing against Leicester was tough as they are as near to a football league team as you’re going to get in under-23s football.
“This week, we’ve got down to work and coaching. I’ve been able to speak to them about what I want from them, what I want to improve on individually and as a group, and hopefully they will be able to put that into place against Blackburn.”
On the challenge of Rovers
“I think it will be a tight game. I went to watch them against Brighton the other night and that was an equally tight game for them.
“In under-23s football, it can often depend on what personnel a team put out. If we put out our strongest team at Blackburn and they’re a bit younger, then we have the advantage, but if Blackburn decide to put two or three senior pros on the pitch and we have our 16-year-olds playing then it will be difficult for us.
“This is why it’s always difficult to judge results, but having said that, the performance has got to be better than it was against Leicester – especially in the first-half. But we’ve got to perform well with whatever team we put out on the pitch, not worry about the decisions they make, and hopefully take advantage of that.”
NEXT FIVE
10/01 Blackburn Rovers (H)
14/01 Tividale (A) BSC
20/01 Derby County (H) PLC
24/01 Leeds Untied (H) PLC
29/01 Liverpool (H) PLIC
