Barring something incredible one way or another, both of these sides already look certain to be playing in the Championship next season despite no doubt starting the campaign with aspirations of a top-six finish, and on the basis of this 90 minutes, that is entirely fair.

Backburn in particular would show plenty of intent going forward across the course of the match, but where shut down well by a Bristol City who for large parts failed to threaten themselves on the occasions when they did manage to get forward, with neither doing enough to ever really look like finding the breakthrough that, considering the way things played out, would not have been a surprise if it had been enough to secure all three points.

It was Rovers who started the game enjoying the majority of the possession, and they would see the first opportunity pass them by seven minutes in, when a floated ball from Barry Douglas found the returning Adam Armstrong inside the Bristol City area, with Blackburn's top scorer unable to get enough power on the ball to turn it goalwards.

Bristol City would respond to that quickly, as Kasey Palmer wriggled his way through the Blackburn defence, but could only fire a tame effort straight at Rovers 'keeper Thomas Kaminski from just inside the area.

Rovers would however continue to do most of the pressing, although two freekicks within range of the Bristol City failed to bring about breakthrough, with Douglas striking the first into the visitors wall, before Han-Noah Massengo did well to head the second behind at the back post while under pressure from Bradley Johnson, for a corner that ultimately came to nothing.

Indeed, this was a game that for all the nice passages of play in the centre of the park, was lacking a cutting edge in the final third, with chances few and far between, as both Antoine Semenyo and Nahki Wells resorted to shots from the edge of the area that dragged wide for the visitors.

Up the other end, a driving run from Joe Rothwell, perhaps the most lively player on the park with his driving runs from deep, looked to have created an opening with five minutes until half time, as one of his forays forward allowed Armstrong to play in Joe Rankin-Costello, whose effort from a tight angle was well saved at his near post by Max O'Leary in the Bristol City goal just as it looked to be creeping in.

There would be a familiar feeling to the game after the break, with both sides continuing to search for a killer instinct in the final third, with the visitors twice failed to capitalise when first Douglas and then Kaminski lost control of the ball in dangerous positions for the hosts.

At the other end of the pitch, Armstrong would continue to look dangerous in the early exchanges of the second 45, flicking a header narrowly over the bar from another Douglas set piece.

Those set pieces would continue to frustrate Rovers as the night went on, with captain Darragh Lenihan next to rue his luck for the hosts, as he just failed to get on the end of an inviting Rothwell free kick at the back post as the game reached the hour-mark with little clear sign of a breakthrough.

Bristol City however, were starting to pose a threat, with Palmer twice finding the hands of Kaminski in quick succession from the edge of the area, the first time on the volley after a promising break down the left by Nahki Wells.

As the game entered the final ten minutes, both sides continued to push for what looked like being an unlikely opener, although Lewis Holtby will have been disappointed not to have done more than fire into the side netting for Rovers after bringing the ball down well on the turn inside the Bristol City area.

The visitors would then go even closer to an opener seconds later, Kaminski reacting brilliantly to push a strike on the half volley from 30 yards from Famara Diedhiou onto the post, after the 'keeper's own clearance had allowed Bristol City to work the ball to the striker.

In the end though, despite those late efforts, that breakthrough failed to materialise, with neither side really showing enough to warrant a winner, in a game that is unlikely to be remembered fondly by those who saw it.