Preview: Blackburn vs Wigan

The last time these two met, Wigan picked up an incredible 5-3 victory at the JJB Stadium. That result was absolutely vital, and a win here at Ewood Park would edge Wigan even closer to Premiership survival for another year.

Teams

Wigan will miss the services of midfielder Jason Koumas after he was sent off five minutes from time with Bolton and begins a three-match ban. Kevin Kilbane is expected to come into the side at his expense. Antoine Sibierski misases out due to a calf injury. Upfront sriker Emile Heskey is expected to be fit from his foot injury to team up with Marcus Bent.

Meanwhile, Johann Vogel cannot play his first game for the Rovers yet, Ryan Nelsen is not yet fit enough to play and Brett Emerton remains out with an injury to his groin.

Squads

Blackburn (from): Friedel, Khizanisvili, Samba, Ooijer, Warnock, Bentley, Reid, Dunn, Pedersen, Roberts, Santa Cruz, Derbyshire, McCarthy, Brown, Mokoena, Tugay.

Wigan (from): Kirkland, Melchiot, Scharner, Boyce, Edman, Valencia, Brown, Palacios, Kilbane, Heskey, King, Bramble, Sibierski, Taylor, Pollitt, Aghahowa, Bent, Olembe, Skoko.

Bruce: we're on good form

"Our form is good and I've been delighted with the way we've played.

"We're inching towards that safety barrier and let's hope we can go and produce another performance like we did a few weeks ago against Blackburn and get a similar result.

"I'm looking forward to going to Ewood Park again. It's always a decent atmosphere, and we'll see what it brings up this time."