Blackburn v West Brom preview

Blackburn Rovers forward Dwight Yorke should start against West Brom.

Yorke's days at Ewood Park appeared to be numbered at the start of pre-season after he was left out of the club's trip to Germany and had infuriated manager Graeme Souness with his attitude.

But he has subsequently knuckled down and impressed Souness so much that he is expected to start alongside Jon Stead against promoted West Brom on Saturday.

With Andy Cole shipped out to Fulham, Souness brought in Paul Dickov from Leicester City but the aggressive front man is likely to be on the substitutes' bench after picking up a minor knock in training.

Lucas Neill also collected a slight injury earlier in the week but should be in the squad as Rovers seek to atone for a disappointing last season.

David Thompson is sidelined again after aggravating his knee injury while Steven Reid is out for two months with a foot problem.

Rovers also brought in Javier De Pedro and Dominic Matteo over the summer and both are pushing for their debuts this weekend. 

Souness' main fitness doubt had concerned influential goalkeeper Brad Friedel, who damaged his 'kicking muscle' in the early stages of pre-season, but he has been named in the squad.

The last time these two sides met at Ewood Park was in a 1-1 draw during the 2002/03 season but both the scorers from that match will not be present on Saturday.

Damien Duff was sold by Rovers to Chelsea last year while Baggies ace Jason Koumas misses the first four games of the season through suspension.

West Brom chief Gary Megson has been busy in the transfer market over the summer and could give a handful of his new signings debuts at Ewood Park.

Riccardo Scimeca, Darren Purse, Jonathan Greening and Kanu are all tipped to start as the Hawthorns side start out on the road to securing their place in The Premiership.

Megson also raided the foreign market to bring in Martin Albrechtsen, Zoltan Gera and Tomasz Kuszczak and that trio are also in the squad.

In addition to Koumas' absence, West Brom also make the trip to the North West without Larus Sigurdsson (knee) and Rob Hulse (stomach strain).

Skysports.com Predicted Score: 3-1.
Blackburn will be determined to make up for a poor last campaign and should start on a winning note as West Brom look to bed in all their new signings.