Premiership: Blackburn Rovers V West Brom – Sunday, 23rd January (LIVE on SKY SPORTS HD1)

 

Blackburn Rovers V West Brom

Sunday, 23rd January – 16:00 (GMT)
Venue: Ewood Park
TV Coverage: Sky Sports HD1

 

Blackburn Rovers

The latest piece of news to derive from Blackburn this week isn’t regarding this so called ‘marquee’ player the club are so eager to recruit, no instead that Steve Kean, the man who controversially uprooted Sam Allardyce as Rovers manager back in December, has signed a new contract meaning he’ll remain Blackburn Rovers boss until at least 2013.

So a manager with next to no managerial experience will take charge for another two years at the minimum. Of course, Kean himself is elated with the decision, though I doubt the club’s supporters are dancing round the streets. If Kean fails to deliver results, something he hasn’t done on a consistent basis since taking charge back in December – Winning just two of his six league games in charge, then it wouldn’t be a great surprise to see the fans turn on him. And if Venky’s don’t deliver on their promise of bringing a superstar to Lancashire then the fans may well revolt on the owners as well.

So far, David Beckham and Ronaldinho have both snubbed a move to Ewood Park, while it would appear Argentine Juan Riquelme also isn’t interested in what Venky and Kean have to offer. Surprise, surprise. However, Kean has at least bolstered his ranks with the loan signings of Jermaine Jones, a combative, central midfielder from Schalke, and a former cult figure within the Ewood terraces in Roque San Cruz, who scored 23 goals during his two seasons with Blackburn (2007-2009). Both Jones and Santa Cruz could feature at the weekend as Rovers go in search of their third league win under Steve Kean, their second in succession at Ewood Park following their sensational 3-1 triumph over Liverpool on January 5th.

Steve Kean will have a soft spot for Sunday’s opponents, West Brom, as they were the first team Blackburn beat under his stewardship. A Nikola Kalinic brace and a Miram Biram Diouf strike sealed a 3-1 win for Rovers at The Hawthorns on 28 December, though any chance of them repeating the trick could depend largely on who scores the first goal. Blackburn have yet to come from behind and beat anyone this season, nor have they defied a deficit to draw a game either. So a lightening quick start from Kean’s men is needed if lightening is to strike twice within the space of a month.

 

West Brom

It has been a whole twenty-years since Albion last celebrated a winning outcome over Lancashire rivals Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park, and after losing the earlier meeting with Steve Kean’s Rovers outfit, the odds are well and truly stacked against the Baggies in a match they must win if they’re to avoid sliding closer to the dreaded relegation zone.

The blistering pace at which the Baggies began the season caught everyone off-guard, the majority expecting nothing less than another typical West Brom-like season of strife and trouble down near the foot of the table. Well they were right. The honeymoon period didn’t last long and since their unbelievable start, when losing just two of their opening nine league games, have gone on to taste defeat in nine of their last thirteen league encounters, not to mention exit in the FA Cup at the earliest possible stage of proceedings.

So it’s been downhill for the last couple of months and with the team in urgent need of a lift, you would have thought the club would have turned to the January transfer window in a bid to reinvigorate the squad and give the fans something to get excited about. In the meantime, with Roberto Di Matteo seemingly reluctant to delve in the market, the Italian tactician is relying heavily on Lady Luck to see them through what will be an arduous second half of the season, and it was several slices of luck which saw them stop the rot last weekend with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Blackpool at The Hawthorns.

Following their fortuitous win over the Tangerines a week ago, it’s important the Baggies build on their recent success and forget about all that went before. Previously, before a Peter Odemwingie brace fired West Brom to a priceless win last weekend, Albion were stuck in a five-match losing rut and heading in one direction; the relegation zone. Now Di Matteo and his team have a positive platform to build from and on Sunday, will need to produce another similar gritty performance if they’re to leave Ewood Park with more spoils.

While they did well to put a dismal run of form to bed eight days ago, their wretched run of results away from home is still very much alive and defeat on Sunday would be their fourth on the spin on their travels. Victory would be their first in eight away matches, while it would also avenge the 3-1 reverse suffered at the hands of Blackburn at the Hawthorns just last month. However, to win games you need to locate the back of the goal and that’s something West Brom haven’t gotten the hang of for some time. Di Matteo’s men fired blanks in their previous two away encounters at Bolton and Fulham, while they’ve failed to score in three of their last four on the road, none of those against particularly strong hosts either.

———————————————————–

Last 5 Results

Blackburn Rovers

Premiership: Chelsea 2-0 Blackburn Rovers
FA Cup: Blackburn Rovers 1-0 Queens Park Rangers
Premiership: Blackburn Rovers 3-1 Liverpool
Premiership: Sunderland 3-0 Blackburn Rovers
Premiership: West Brom 1-3 Blackburn Rovers

West Brom

Premiership: West Brom 3-2 Blackpool
FA Cup: Reading 1-0 West Brom
Premiership: Fulham 3-0 West Brom
Premiership: West Brom 1-2 Manchester United
Premiership: West Brom 1-3 Blackburn Rovers

———————————————————–

Head-to-Head (Last 5 Seasons)

2010/2011: West Brom 1-3 Blackburn Rovers

2008/2009: Blackburn Rovers 0-0 West Brom
2008/2009: West Brom 2-2 Blackburn Rovers

2005/2006: West Brom 2-0 Blackburn Rovers
2005/2006: Blackburn Rovers 2-0 West Brom

———————————————————–

2010/2011 Premiership Statistics

Blackburn Rovers

League Position: 11th
Win-Draw-Lose: 8-4-11 (Home: 5-3-3)
Goal Difference: 29-37 (Home: 15-10)
Form: LWLWL (Home: WWDLW)
Top Scorer: Morten Gamst Pedersen & Nikola Kalinic (4)

West Brom

League Position: 14th
Win-Draw-Lose: 7-4-11 (Away: 2-2-7)
Goal Difference: 29-41 (Away: 13-24)
Form: LLLLW (Away: LWLLL)
Top Scorer: Peter Odemwingie (8)

———————————————————–

Betting Odds & Tips

Match Prediction: Blackburn Rovers to WIN – 2.25 Bet365

I found this one of the more difficult games to pick a winner in, not least because rarely do I back either. The arrival of Roque Santa Cruz could prove a shrewd piece of business, though the Paraguay striker has played very little football this season and while he’s likely to start from the off on Sunday, I’m not convincined he’ll make an immediate impact. Peter Odemwingie is a more dangerous forward outlet in my opinion. He has pace and gets into great scoring positions. Granted he often needs half-a-dozen opportunities before he finally puts one away, but if the Nigerian is kept busy then the Baggies will cause Rovers problems.

Home advantage is key as Blackburn tend to produce their very best stuff at Ewood Park, whereas West Brom arrive in Lancashire still bearing the scars of three defeats in their last four away ventures.

The Baggies can play some decent football at times but they’ve been so hit and miss of late, so a tenative vote goes the way of Blackburn to complete the second leg of a league double over Roberto Di Matteo’s West Brom.

Value Bet: Roque Santa Cruz to Score – 3.25 Unibet

A lack of match fitness means Santa Cruz may take a while to find his stride, but he’s a class act and a clinical finisher, whether that be using his head or his feet.

 

Match Odds:

Blackburn Rovers – 2.25 Bet365
Draw – 3.40 BetFred
West Brom – 3.50 Boylesports