Blackburn Rovers have a unique opportunity to close up the gap with Wigan Athletic with a victory over Northampton when they meet on Saturday. Rovers earned a late win at Fleetwood the last time. The 2-1 win extended their unbeaten run to 16 games in the league.

The Tony Mowbray led side are second in the league as they have better goal difference compared to Shrewsbury who follow closely. They are five points behind Wigan in the League One but this can reduce to just two if they can get the better over their opponents. Corry Evans, Marcus Antonsson and Peter Whittingham are set to miss the game at Fleetwood. This means Richie Smallwood and Elliott Bennett could partner while Jack Payne and Adam Armstrong could be handed their first start.

Danny Graham would be expected to play in attack and Darragh Lenihan could make a return from injury. Of course Harry Chapman remains sidelined with his long term injury. Northampton are 18th on the log, with 32 points after 28 league games. They won their last game against MK Dons 2-1. They have struggled with defending so far, having conceded 49 goals and scored just 27.

The Cobblers, led by Chelsea legend jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink will likely ply the conservative route against Rovers. However, with the focus of closing the gap against Wigan, Mowbray should be able to steer his side to victory.