Blackburn Rovers v Newcastle United
Football: English Premier League
Wednesday 1 February 2012 - Kick Off 8pm

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Blackburn Rovers

Blackburn Rovers are still in the relegation zone, but the fans are still unhappy while Christopher Samba has made it clear that he no longer wants to be at the club. At the time of writing, Samba looks set to stay at the club, but it will be interesting as to how the dressing room stays in harmony for the rest of the season.

Rovers are 18th in the Premier League, but they could have dropped a couple of positions depending on results on Tuesday night. They have a 3-0-8 record at Ewood Park this season, scoring 16 goals and conceding 22, making this one of the higher scoring grounds in the League. No one has lost more home games so far this season.

The team have picked up 8 points from their last 15 available in the Premier League, and they have lost just 2 of their last 6 games in all competitions. Goals have not been in short supply in recent weeks at Ewood Park, with both sides scoring in the last 5 here, while Rovers had conceded at least 2 goals in 4 games in a row here before beating Fulham 3-1 last time out.

Yakubu remains suspended for the this game, but David Dunn could return from injury. Chris Samba may not be involved even if he has not left the club in the current transfer window.

Newcastle United

Newcastle United must be really disappointed that they fell out of the FA Cup as that looks like an open competition that could have satisfied the fans desire for a trophy. That loss at lower-League Brighton was a poor result, but they still have a chance to create big waves in the Premier League as they continue flying high.

The Magpies are 6th in the Premier League table, having earned a very respectable 36 points so far this season. It is possible that they have lost a position in the table as Liverpool play on Tuesday night, and they may also be further than the 5 points behind Chelsea that they are currently. Newcastle are 4-3-4 away from home this season, scoring 16 goals and conceding 19.

A loss at Brighton was a bad result, while Newcastle were beaten in their last League game at Fulham 5-2. That actually ended a run of 3 successive wins in all competitions, although those results all came at St James' Park. The team have actually lost 4 of their last 5 games away from home in all competitions, and they have conceded 13 goals in those games.

Yohan Cabaye is facing a three match ban, but could take part in this game if he decides to appeal against the FA charge brought against him. Fabricio Coloccini should be back in the team, but both Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse are both still not back from the African Cup of Nations.

Head to Head

Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United have met three times already this season, and all of those games have been high scoring, with at least 3 goals scored in each game.

Rovers won a Carling Cup game at Ewood Park against the Magpies, although that did end 3-3 at the end of 90 minutes.

The teams drew 0-0 here last season, but Blackburn had won the previous 2 Premier League games here before that.

Prediction

Both of these teams have been much better going forward than they have been defending in recent games and I think we may as well continue taking the philosophy that Blackburn Rovers games are high-scoring ones.

Rovers are missing Chris Samba who has been an important part of their defence for some time and that should give Newcastle plenty of chances, especially considering Blackburn have not kept a clean sheet at home all season.

On the other hand, Blackburn have been decent enough creating and scoring chances of their own and they should feel they can score against a defence that has given up 13 goals in 5 away games in all competitions.

It is a shame that Demba Ba, Yakubu and Cisse are all missing, but I still expect to see goals in this one.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Blackburn Rovers 2-1 Newcastle United

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll go for Over 2.75 Goals @ 2.10 (188Bet)