Mowbray wants Blackburn Rovers to make up for 'lost opportunity' against Cobblers

Town travel to Ewood Park for a Sky Bet League One meeting on Saturday, just five weeks after the two sides met at Sixfields.

That match ended in a stalemate, although Mowbray afterwards claimed many of his players were suffering from a sickness bug which affected their energy levels.

Sam Foley headed the Cobblers ahead before Bradley Dack equalised, and Rovers then passed up two great chances to win it late in the game, with Craig Conway missing an open goal and Marcus Antonsson seeing his penalty saved by David Cornell.

Asked for his thoughts on that December meeting in the build up to this weekend's meeting, Mowbray said: “I think it was dropped points and a lost opportunity.

“We were under par that day yet we missed a penalty kick, Craig (Conway) went round the goalkeeper and missed an open goal, put it in to the side netting, we hit the woodwork, so it was a day that things didn’t quite go for us and we were disappointed.

“We now have an opportunity at home to show our quality.

“Yet they have changed a lot of players in that short period of time, if you look at their starting line-up from last week from against us three or four weeks ago then there are maybe six changes."

Rovers haven't lost at home in the league since mid-September, and are on an impressive 16-match unbeaten run.

They moved second in the table last weekend, and are now chasing down league one leaders Wigan Athletic, but the much-changed Cobblers, who have made seven signings in the January transfer window, are also in good form having won three matches in a row, and Mowbray is wary of the threat of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's men.

“We have to be mindful, take every game with full concentration and that’s what we’ll be doing this Saturday against Northampton, making sure that to beat us they’re going to have to be very good to beat us," said the Rovers boss.

“If you underestimate any team then you can drop points.

“I think they’ve recruited some players in recent weeks, spent some money and added one or two others and we felt their physicality on the day at Northampton which gave us some problems and we have to be mindful of that.

“We have to impose our style on them and try and get the three points."

A decent sized crowd is expected at Ewood Park, with the Cobblers set to be cheered on by 1,000-plus travelling fans.

Town have no new injury concerns ahead of the trip to the north west, with only Aaron Pierre and Aaron Phillips unavailable.