Last Updated: Fri, 27 Nov 2009 11:26
Brett Emerton and Gael Givet are poised to return from injury as Blackburn look for a fifth successive home win against Stoke.
Emerton is back in contention for a place after being forced to miss Wednesday's 3-0 defeat at Fulham with a knee injury.
Givet also missed the defeat at Craven Cottage after failing to recover from the thigh strain that forced him to limp out of last weekend's win at Bolton, but the duo have made good progress in the latter part of the week and are expected to feature.
Boss Sam Allardyce will once again be missing from the sidelines after undergoing heart surgery, with assistant Neil McDonald in charge for the Stoke clash, but he hopes to be back in the dug out for Blackburn's Carling Cup tie against Chelsea next week.