Blackburn Rovers rounded off their week-long camp in Austria with two 2-1 defeats against FC Nurnberg.

John Eustace's side stepped up their preparations for the 2024/25 season with two 60-minute matches against the 2.Bundesliga side. Rovers named two entirely different XIs, as they have in each pre-season outing so far.

The first match was filled with the senior players. They lost 2-1 after goals from Danilo Soares and Lukas Schleimer put them two to the good. An own goal from Schleimer, under pressure from Dom Hyam, saw the deficit halved.

Rovers' second XI fell the same fate, going 2-0 before rallying. Dustin Forkel and Stefanos Tzimas netted in each half before John Buckley curled a free-kick in to mirror the scoreline.

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Here are the key talking points from Rovers' latest outing.

Szmodics misses out

Sam Szmodics sparked panic in the Rovers fan base earlier this week when he wasn't pictured during their training session on Monday. That was because of his late arrival, flying out after the main group for personal reasons.

Rovers' star man was absent from the matches on Saturday too. The club say that was as a 'precaution', which is entirely plausible given the week of training Rovers have undertaken.

Of course, with the transfer window open and rumours swirling, the sceptics will have their own view. Hopefully, it is just a minor knock and he's back in training next week.

Ryan Hedges also missed out on featuring in the game, with it viewed as 'too soon' for the Welshman. Rovers are being very cautious with his return after two long-term hamstring injuries.

Goals were avoidable

Rovers will be disappointed with the goals they conceded. The first was an unbelievable strike from Soares but he was left unmarked on the edge of the box. Sure, there's nothing that could be done once he hit it but he could've been more closely attended to beforehand.

Soares Soares (Image: Nurnberg YouTube)

The second was an overload on the right-hand side after the ball broke kindly for Nurnberg in midfield. Again, the marking in the box could have been tighter but that's what pre-season is for.

In the second game, the fourth goal was particularly disappointing. It was a simple ball over the top which evaded Pat Gamble and that left Tzimas with a simple finish.

All part of the learning curve but Eustace will want to see more touch tightness from his side in some of these scenarios.

Formation hints

Rovers were once again in a 4-2-3-1 shape when they had the ball and 4-4-2 without it. That has been the common theme throughout pre-season with no other systems trialled as yet.

You could argue Rovers don't really have the personnel to try different things at the moment, given their lack of new additions. Nonetheless, it's clear what Eustace is likely to opt for in the early weeks of the season.

Arnor Sigurdsson occupied the role behind Sam Gallagher, which Szmodics usually takes up. He dropped into pockets and tried to link play when Rovers had the ball and pressed as a striker when Nurnberg had it.

Joe Rankin-Costello and Tyrhys Dolan were the wide options. Both are comfortable defending spaces in that area out of possession but can drift when Rovers attack.

It was the same system in the second match, with Igor Tyjon and Jack Vale leading from the front.

Handing around the captaincy

Hyam and Buckley were the captains for Rovers against Accrington Stanley but Eustace insisted he would be handing around the armband during pre-season.

This time it was the turn of Hayden Carter, who wore it for the first match against Nurnberg. Connor O'Riordan was given that responsibility for the younger team in the second.

It's another indication that Eustace is trying to foster leadership throughout the squad, rather than relying on individuals. A decision on who keeps the armband full-time will be made closer to the beginning of the season.

Hyam is probably the favourite, at this stage, to be captain but Lewis Travis is in contention too. Szmodics was vice-captain from January onwards and now Carter is perhaps in the mix.

Results don't really matter but signings do

It's never ideal to lose, you'd rather win every pre-season game 8-0. The reality is, it doesn't really matter too much.

It's still about fitness, at this stage. Rovers will step things up next week as they move to two 90-minute games against Morecambe and Wigan Athletic. The squads will be split again and you'd guess the more senior players will play at the DW Stadium.

Whether Rovers won or lost, it's again evident that the squad is very stretched. They have around 15 senior players and the rest are Academy hopefuls or unproven at Championship level.

No doubt Eustace will be frustrated there hasn't been a breakthrough this week whilst the team has been away. Whilst there remains time, the sooner they get fresh faces in, the quicker they can be integrated.

It feels like next week will be quite telling, as preparations step up on the pitch and the timer ticks down.