Blackburn Rovers V Aston Villa – Saturday 26th September

 

Blackburn Rovers V Aston Villa

 

Kick-Off: Saturday 26^th September – 15:00 GMT

Venue: Ewood Park

 

 

Blackburn Rovers

 

League Position: 18th

Recent Form: LLDWL

 

  

Blackburn went down to their third defeat of the season on Saturday when they were comprehensively beaten and outplayed at Goodison Park, against Everton. Blackburn did have their moments, mainly with El Hadji-Diouf producing some sparkling runs down the right but, all in all, Everton ran out comfortable winners in a game Blackburn could of possibly got something out of, especially as Everton were severely lacking in league form beforehand.

  

Sam Allardyce will now need to rally his troops in time for this crucial clash with Aston Villa, an inform Aston Villa we must say. This is a fixture in which Blackburn haven’t faired too well in recent meetings, especially at Ewood Park. Rovers have lost the previous three meetings on home soil and they’ve shown very little of late to indicate that they may halt the Villa express and record their first points against Villa in three home meetings.

 

For Blackburn to take something out of this game they will need to be a lot more adventurous in the final third. Diouf was their only player to come away from Goodison with any real credit but his endeavour down the flanks came to nothing as rarely was their a Blackburn forward nor player in the Everton box. Someone has to gamble and take a chance on their wingers putting in a decent cross as another negative display will almost certainly see Blackburn come up short once again.

 

 

 

Aston Villa

 

League Position: 6th

Recent Form: LWWWW

 

  

Martin O’Neill’s squabble with influential figure; Nigel Reo-Coker, didn’t interfere with Aston Villa’s pre match preparations nor did it affect their team morale as Aston Villa avoided any potential slip up at home to a lacklustre Portsmouth last Saturday. Villa cruised to a comfortable 2-0 victory at Villa Park to record their fourth win in succession, lifting them up to fifth in the Premiership table.

  

Villa are a young and exuberant team and last season they were in a similar position where Martin O’Neill’s side were prominent in terms of challenging the top four. Because of their youthful nature, Villa have had terrible issues with consistency, but four wins on the trot does send out a signal of intent to the top four that they are serious contenders this time around. To be brutally honest, were Villa not to be there or thereabouts then it would be a disappointing season in the eyes of the Villa fans. They should have learnt their harsh lessons from last season, which seen them let slip a healthy lead in fourth position, but with results going their way and fourth spot just over the horizon, barring they maintain their winning run, will Villa handle the added pressure or will they falter once again?

   

The answer to the above question is one we unfortunately don’t know right now. The early indications are that they might have matured since last season as they have approached their games this season in a more sensible yet vigorous manner, with mistakes few and far between now. Their defence has come on leaps and bounds since last season, the recruitment of Richard Dunne looks an immense capture, while the pace and skill they posses in midfield will be a right handful for the best of sides. Their striking department does look, on paper anyway, pretty prolific and full of goals. Both Gabriel Agbonlahor and John Carew should compliment the pace and wit of James Milner & Ashley Young down the flanks, with the England U21 internationals increasingly improving their crossing ability which should pay dividends with the aerial prowess of their striking duo.

  

Villa are rapidly becoming a decent little package. Solid at back, a midfield full of creativity and a forward line with pace, strength and potential. However, that is Villa summed up to a tee, a team with potential. They are the most youthful side currently in the Premiership, with the exception of possibly Arsenal, and with youth often comes arrogance. If Villa’s young hopefuls can carrying on improving then Villa could be a big force in seasons to come, but, for the time being at least, that is a big ‘IF’.

 

 

 

Head-to-Head:

 

 

Blackburn Rovers W: 1 Aston Villa W: 7 Draws: 2

 

 

Aston Villa have been the dominate team in recent meetings, with seven of the last ten encounters going the way of Villa. However, a stunning statistic is the fact that Villa have beaten Blackburn in their previous three visits to Ewood Park. You have to stretch back to the 2005/2006 season for Blackburn’s last home success against Villa and it’s clear Villa hold somewhat of a voodoo over Blackburn at Ewood Park.

 

 

Over 2.5 Goals: 4 Under 2.5 Goals: 6

 

Two of the previous three meetings at Ewood Park have resulted in a game filled with goals. However, the most recent encounter on Blackburn soil came up just shy of Overs when Villa beat Blackburn 2-0. The fact that just four of the last ten meetings have finished with three or more goals may look disappointing but three of those have all come at Ewood Park.

 

  

Match Verdict: Aston Villa to WIN – 6/4 SkyBet

 

The Villa voodoo will drag on here as we expect Blackburn to come up short once again against Martin O’Neill’s side. Villa are in sensational form and they haven’t looked back since their opening day defeat at home to Wigan, winning their following four fixtures, two of which were away from home. Blackburn’s biggest threat of a goal will come from set pieces but Villa should be well equipped to deal with the aerial threat posed by Rovers with the heigh of Curtis Davies and Richard Dunne at the back. Villa, however, have several players and methods of scoring a goal and they will be a right handful for Blackburn this weekend, too much we feel.

 

 

 

 

Match Odds:

 

 

Blackburn Rovers – 21/10 Bet365

 

Aston Villa – 6/4 SkyBet

 

DRAW – 23/10 Expekt

 

 

 

SoccerBetting Tip: Aston Villa to WIN by ONE GOAL (winning margin)- 10/3 Bet365