Wolves vs Blackburn Rovers Preview: Team News & Prediction
Wolverhampton Wanderers’ return to the Championship becomes official on Friday night, when Cesar Peixoto’s newly assembled squad hosts Blackburn Rovers in the opening fixture of the 2026-27 season. Kick-off at Molineux is set for 8pm, live on Sky Sports, bringing down the curtain on a turbulent summer in which relegation, a managerial change and a significant squad overhaul have reshaped the club from top to bottom.
Wolves finished bottom of the Premier League last season with just 20 points and the division’s lowest goal tally, a decline severe enough to cost Rob Edwards his job despite underlying expected-points data suggesting the team should have fared somewhat better. Peixoto, appointed from Portuguese side Gil Vicente, now inherits the task of engineering an immediate promotion push in a league he has never previously worked in.
Wolves team news
Peixoto’s rebuilding job has been extensive. Kieran Trippier and Raul Jimenez have signed on free transfers, bringing significant experience into a squad short on Championship pedigree, while Ladislav Krejci’s loan move from Girona has been converted into a permanent deal and Rafiki Said has arrived from Belgian club Standard Liege. Outgoings have funded much of that incoming business: Joao Gomes left for Aston Villa in a deal worth roughly £40m, and forward Tolu Arokodare has joined Ajax on loan.
Results in pre-season have been encouraging on the surface. Wolves won four of their five warm-up fixtures, including victories over Doncaster Rovers, Racing Santander and Port Vale, the latter a 3-0 Carabao Cup success in front of more than 21,000 fans at Molineux. That underlying performance was less convincing than the scoreline suggested, however, with Wolves conceding 1.93 expected goals against and facing three big chances against League Two opposition, saved in part by goalkeeper Dan Bentley’s penalty stop. Peixoto has acknowledged publicly that further additions are required before the transfer window closes.
Blackburn Rovers team news
Tony Mowbray’s side head into the new campaign after finishing 20th in the Championship last season, a position that broadly matched their expected-points total of 55.54. Preparation has been mixed: a heavy 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest was followed by a 2-0 win over Strasbourg and a 1-1 draw with Huddersfield Town, before Rovers opened their competitive season with a 2-1 Carabao Cup win away at Burton Albion.
Right-back Lewis Miller is the one confirmed injury absentee for the visit to Molineux. Mowbray, one of the more experienced managers in the division, will be looking for his side to bring greater defensive solidity on the road than they showed in their toughest pre-season test against Forest.
Head-to-head and form
The two clubs have met 17 times since 2003, with Wolves winning six, Blackburn three and eight matches drawn — a record that offers Rovers some historical encouragement even as bookmakers make Wolves clear favourites, priced around 4/7 to win compared with 6/1 for an away victory. Both clubs enter round one unbeaten in early domestic cup action, giving each side a small measure of competitive sharpness heading into the league opener.
Prediction
Wolves carry the greater weight of expectation and the incentive of an opening-night crowd invested in an immediate return to the Premier League, but Peixoto’s defence has shown vulnerabilities even in victory during pre-season, and Blackburn’s away form under Mowbray has historically been stubborn. Expect Wolves’ extra quality in the final third, led by Jimenez, to prove decisive in a contest that may be tighter than the form guide suggests.
Prediction: Wolves 2-1 Blackburn Rovers
