Aston Villa V Blackburn Rovers: Saturday 2nd January (FA Cup)

Aston Villa V Blackburn Rovers

Saturday 2^nd January – 15:00 GMT

Aston Villa

FA Cup Odds: 22/1 BetFred

Martin O’Neill has his work cut out this week as he aims to revitalise his ranks after a demoralising defeat at home to Liverpool during the week. Villa, who were previously unbeaten in seven heading into Christmas, have now lost back-to-back games in the league following the defeat at Arsenal, just two days before they succumbed to their second home defeat of the season to Liverpool. That’s a first for Aston Villa, losing back-to-back games in the league, and it will be intriguing to see how Villa respond this Saturday in one of three all Premiership affairs.

Villa were one of the in form teams heading into Christmas and New Year but their form has now taken a big swerve and Villa, for the first time this season, maybe a team best to steer well clear of as no one is quite sure how those two defeats to two of their biggest rivals will be taken in by the players. After previously winning four on the bounce before their back-to-back defeats, surely now the stuffing will well and truly be knocked out of the players as they’ve started to lose their grip on a top four position just like last season. However, we mustn’t forget that their two defeats did come against two of the very best in England and their opponents on Saturday, Blackburn Rovers, are a million miles off the high standards Villa have faced last week.

With the exception of the two recent defeats, although it is hard and foolish to completely disregard them, Villa have been a tidy little outfit. They have an attack full of trickery, technical ability and plenty of pace; while their defence has looked far stronger this season than ever before. Martin O’Neill’s biggest winge during last season was about his small squad but now Villa are rapidly becoming a complete package, albeit a world-class striker down. That is still a concern of ours, Villa’s strike force, as their strikers are just too similar and predictable. Both John Carew & Emile Heskey give you the same outlet; Height, while Agbonlahor is a whole lot different except he has lightening pace. Some fresh forward thinking blood is required in our opinion to complete what would be a lethal looking Villa attacking third.

Villa have the quality to dispatch Blackburn with ease on Saturday, but the two defeats in quick succession does throw a spanner in the works. Their momentum heading into the new year has been halted and it’s now a case of how well Villa respond this Saturday. We think they’ll cope just fine but that’s mainly down to the fact that they’re facing a pretty poor Blackburn side, especially when on their travels. Villa at home have been very clinical; with a home record of 6-2-2 this season, but the players will need a rousing reception on Saturday in order to get them through their Christmas hangover.

Blackburn Rovers

FA Cup Odds: 100/1 Bet365

In what has been a drab year could turn a shade duller this Saturday if Blackburn do fail to bypass an awkward tie with Aston Villa. A game Rovers will be big underdogs in. That’s unusual for any Premiership team to be an underdog in a cup fixture, especially as it’s not against one of the so called ‘Big Four’ but Rovers’ predicament means they’ve lost the respect of both the bookies and the punters, and many will steer well clear of Blackburn in the FA Cup this season.

If this was to be decided on league form alone then Blackburn wouldn’t stand a chance. Their opponents have been puling out all the stops this season, claiming the scalps of Chelsea, Man Utd & Liverpool all within the space of half a season. Rovers, on the other hand, have rarely claimed a win let alone caused any major upsets of their own, with their only piece of inspiration being a two match unbeaten run back home in league action, although Rovers are without a league victory for well over a month now, an eight game unwanted run. 

However, Sam Allardyce, the Rovers gaffer, knows his squad has the potential to beat Villa on their day as Blackburn have reached new heights in the League Cup, the other domestic cup on offer to English sides, although not too many bother with it. However, somewhat ironically, Blackburn’s opponents in that two-legged semi-final encounter are Aston Villa, which makes this encounter at Villa Park even more significant as it’s a taster of things to come for Rovers and how well Blackburn could fare.  

The Carling Cup semi-final will be on the minds of every Blackburn player as everyone dreams of a Wembley final appearance, although the FA Cup is the bread n’ butter in the English domestic front and we’re 100% sure that ‘Big Sam’ will do everything in his power to aid Blackburn’s progression in this tournament. He will, though, need to start with the basics; improving player morale. An eight match win less run will only dampen the spirits of a camp and Blackburn’s form on the road this season has been terrible. In the league, Blackburn have won just once away from home all season, falling to seven defeats along the way. In the Carling Cup, Rovers did manage to away wins, albeit over lower league opposition in Gillingham and Nottingham Forest.  

Blackburn’s biggest problem is scoring enough goals. This is especially apparent when on their travels, with Rovers managing just seven away goals all season whilst in league action. They did manage four in their pair of Carling Cup trips but against far lesser quality opponents so we won’t read too much into that. However, perhaps a sign that things are on the up with Rovers is that they’ve managed to score in their previous two away encounters; a 2-1 defeat at Birmingham and a 1-1 draw away at Wigan Athletic. They have, though, shipped 24 goals in return with an away goalscoring ratio of 3:1, with the 3 being the amount of goals they concede before they actually find the goal themselves.

Match Verdict: Aston Villa to WIN – 1.62 Bet365

Two disappointing results in as many days can only hinder the spirit of any camp but Villa have grown stronger this season compared to last and we expect nothing less than for Villa to bounce back with a comfortable victory at home Blackburn Rovers. Villa’s opponents have been a dreadful away outfit this season, managing just one away win against Premiership opposition in all competitions, and asking Rovers to double their tally on Saturday is a far too big an ask. The Villa players will be desperate to gain some sort of revenge for that drop in form and Rovers could be a team in the wrong place at the wrong time if Villa storm out of the blocks.

Match Odds:

Aston Villa – 1.62 Bet365

Draw – 3.75 Coral

Blackburn Rovers – 6.50 PaddyPower

SoccerBetting Value Tip: Aston Villa/Aston Villa (HT/FT Betting) – 2.50 Boylesports