Manchester City vs. Blackburn Rovers Preview

Blackburn Rovers will have it all to do if they are to preserve their fragile position above the relegation zone when they take on table toppers Manchester City at the Etihad Arena on Saturday February 25.

Steve Kean’s strugglers finally hauled their way out of the bottom three with a valiant 3-2 victory at home to QPR during their last Premier League assignment; however their advantage over 18th placed side Wolves is merely goal difference and that seems unlikely to be extended with City in such fine touch at home.

Blackburn’s away form, as a feature alone, is enough to deter even the most optimistic of punters for this forthcoming fixture.

Rovers have recorded just one win on the road all season and despite drawing half of their twelve away games to date, 30 goals have been shipped by a porous and static looking defence which has been woefully short of both quality and confidence.

A recent 7-1 drubbing at the hands of a very mediocre Arsenal team rubber stamped Blackburn’s defensive failings and their goal difference should be damaged further by Roberto Mancini’s men who have been lethal at home.

Indeed, Blackburn’s task really couldn’t be more daunting considering that City have won all twelve of their home matches in the league – rifling home a remarkable 37 goals in the process.

Rovers did manage to scrape a draw in this fixture last season however a repeat of City’s 4-1 success in the 2009/2010 campaign appears more likely this time around.

This is undoubtedly the most crucial period of Manchester City’s season and the pressure will be mounting on Mancini and his star-studded squad.

Nevertheless, the Italian’s prior success as Inter Milan boss is sure to help steer him and his team through the latter stages of the campaign and with a flawless home record to protect, City can easily dispatch of Blackburn and move one step closer to Premier League glory.

City have beaten far better sides at the Etihad in recent months and the likes of Aguero, Silva and Johnson should have no problem scything their way through a Rovers back line which is in desperate need of new blood and an experienced face.

The hosts best match odds of 1/5 are just about the shortest of any Premier League team so far this term and needless to say, whilst they may reflect a near certainty they are not going to make you rich fast.

Interestingly, both clubs have been involved in matches containing three or more goals on 17 out of 25 occasions in the league this season, so the odds of 4/9 for over 2.5 goals, although smaller than usual for such a market, actually promote decent value.

Taking both teams’ for and against records into account, that wager should definitely be preferred over the 1/5 for a Manchester City win, but the hosts can land a 3-0 or 4-0 triumph at tempting odds of 7/1 and 11/1 respectively.

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20/02/2012     © Frixo 2024