Tomorrow`s Early Kick-Off Sees Swansea Travel To Blackburn

Championship side Blackburn Rovers host Swansea in tomorrow`s early FA Cup kick-off. The 12:45 encounter sees Blackburn, whose play-off hopes have been dealt a blow after having failed to win in their last three matches, pitted against the Swans who sit comfortably in the Premier League top ten. Garry Monk`s men have also suffered a downturn of their own however, managing to pick up only two draws in their last three top flight games.

Both of these clubs received a bye into the third round of this competition, the home side seeing off fellow second division boys Charlton Athletic whilst Swansea gave League Two Tranmere a beating.

Rovers` clash at the Valley couldn`t have got off to a much better start after Chris Taylor put his side in front after only four minutes. The Lancashire club remained with this one goal advantage until the 55th minute, however, when Johann Gudmundsson levelled up.

Gary Bowyer`s side responded well, grabbing the winner through Taylor four minutes later. Blackburn found themselves a man to the good with Yoni Buyens` second yellow card.

The goals scored by Taylor were his first of the season. The Oldham-born midfielder is 17/2 with Betvictor to continue his run of FA Cup form against Swansea and bag his first home goal. Want-away Rudy Gestede is the favourite to score for the Ewood Park outfit, priced up at 3/1 at both Betvictor and betway.

Whether or not the Frenchman will play is up in the air following his absence from the squad that drew 1-1 with Wolves last time out. Gestede`s failure to play in that match was down to a proposed move to Crystal Palace.

Despite only netting once in the first half against Tranmere through Nathan Dyer, the Swans progressed through to the fourth round by hitting the back of the net a further five times away from home in their 6-2 victory.

Dyer`s goal came in the 34th minute before Tom Carrol (49th) and Modou Barrow (58th) scored in quick succession in the second half to see the Whites go 3-0 up. Max Power and Cole Stockton bagged goals within a three minute period to see the deficit reduced to 3-2 but Bafetimbi Gomis grabbed a brace and Wayne Routledge scored another to see the Welsh club out of sight.

The natural successor to the recently departed Wilfried Bony, Bafetimbi Gomis can be backed at 11/1 with unibet to score at least two goals again tomorrow afternoon. He is 19/10 with the same bookmaker to hit the back of the net at any time.

Swansea`s emphatic victory over Tranmere and their recent performances in a superior league mean that it is they who are the 7/5 favourites (Betvictor, boylesports) to progress through to the fifth stage of the competition this weekend. All is not lost for Blackburn, however, who are available at 21/10 (bet365, Betvictor, boylesports) to give their heads a lift with a victory over Premier League opposition. Five to two with the same three bookmakers says that the game will end a tie after 90 minutes, the game being replayed at the Liberty Stadium.

In team news, the away side could hand a start to new £5 million signing Kyle Naughton, who joined the club from Tottenham Hotspur yesterday. The former England Under 21 international is expected to replace Neil Taylor who is also rumoured to be attracting attention from Crystal Palace.

Conversely, Monk will be without one of his Tranmere scorers in Wayne Routledge. The winger had to leave the field of play during his club`s encounter with Premier League leaders Chelsea after sustaining a calf injury. He is now expected to be out for four weeks.

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23/01/2015     © Frixo 2024