English Premier
2011-12-11 - Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
A Sports Betting Pick by Lamps
Football : England : Premiership
Sunday 11th December - Kickoff 1:30pm
Sunderland
Sunderland find themselves in 17th position with just 11 points from a possible 42. With Bolton, Wigan and most importantly this weekends opponents Rovers all within 2 points of Sunderland this really is must not lose, especially given they are at the Stadium of Light.
The good news is the Bruce is out and the very good O'Neil is in. I fully expect Sunderland to shoot up the table and firmly finish mid table when it's all said and done.
Bruce spent big money in the summer but has seen his team collapse with top scorer Gyan leaving unexpectedly and then Wickham getting injured. O'Neil has a big job on his hands here but with the Chairman willing to spend in the transfer window this team should be fine when it's all said and done.
Back onto the field and Sunderland really has been poor this season. Just 1 win at home is shocking and this came against Stoke after the Potters just got back from a brutal journey playing in the Ukraine a few days before.
Chelsea (1-2), Newcastle (0-1) and Wigan (1-2) have come to the Stadium of Light and won so I don't think Blackburn will have any fear this Sunday.
Despite signing two defenders with huge Champions League experience in Brown and O'Shea the side hasn't been able to kill teams off and make defensive stands when necessary. 4 clean sheets is a decent total this year but with just 2 of those coming at home and one being against Stoke (which I'm discounting) it's hardly surprisingly that this side is down at the bottom.
Sunderland Team News :
Team news is that Angeleri, Campbell, Gordon, Gyan, Mignolet and Wickham are out through injury whilst Cattermole is banned.
To top this all off key striker Bendtner is a doubt giving O'Neil plenty of problems when it comes to his first team selection. Up front Ji will partner Bendtner if he passes a fitness test and the midfield should consist of Larsson, Colback, Vaughan and Sessengnon.
The good news is that the back 4 is solid with Bardsley, O'Shea, Brown and Richardson a decent lineup.
Despite the injuries this is still a decent lineup and with it being O'Neils first game in charge I expect a strong performance.
Blackburn Rovers
Steve Keen's Blackburn Rovers beat Swansea last weekend 4-2 at Ewood Park to jump 2 places from 20th into 18th. The win is also significant as they closed the gap to just 1 point from 17th placed Sunderland. The 2 sides meet on Sunday and with Sunderland winning just once at home all season, Rovers will fancy their chances of causing an upset.
Keen has been under severe pressure this season from the fans with most campaigning to get him sacked which is outrageous. The owners have given him the dreaded vote of confidence but he did buy himself some time last weekend with a convincing win against the Swans.
The away form is poor winless in 7 but they have avoided defeat in 4 of those games. The sides to beat Rovers away from Ewood are Villa (3-1), Newcastle (3-1) and Stoke (3-1). It seems that when Rovers lose they seem to lose in dramatic fashion, all 3 defeats have been by a 3-1 scoreline and hence all by 2 goals.
Rovers to their credit do have some good points away from home at Norwich (3-3), QPR (1-1), Fulham (1-1) and Wigan (3-3). The common theme is goals, Rovers have scored 11 on their travels at an average of over 1.50 a game which for a side at the bottom is massive.
The problem has been at the other end as despite have a very good keeper in Robinson and solid centre back of Samba, Rovers is only 1 of 2 teams to have zero clean sheets.
With Sunderland coming all out for the win and O'Neil wanting to get off to a solid start it's impossible to predict a Blackburn clean sheet. However, I feel they are creating enough chances in each game to give themselves a chance in this one.
Blackburn Rovers Team News :
Rovers will be without Grella, Nelsen and N'Zonzi whilst Olsson and Rochina are doubts. I expect Olsson to miss this one but Rochina to start and find himself out on the right wing with Hoilett on the let.
Up top recent 4 goal man Yakubu will be supported by Formica whilst at the back the experienced back four of Salgado, Dann, Samba and Givet need to step up this weekend.
The Betting Verdict
Regarding the fixed odds market, I have no idea who wins this. If this were Bruce in charge statistically I'm all over Rovers who have built some decent momentum in recent weeks. Sunderland always struggle at home and the fans quickly turn against the side which makes it worse.
I would have like to be on Rovers +0.5 but instead I will pass, purely because of the "new manager" theory. I never back against a side with a new manager at home especially if that manager is Martin O'Neil.
Instead I see goals in this one and will hope Blackburn's crazy stats keep going this weekend. They have scored in every away game this season in which they have scored 3 goals on 3 separate occasions!
However at the other end, as already documented no clean sheets is pretty shocking and with Sunderland looking to start well under O'Neil and under the live Sky Cameras I see at least one Mackems goal.
At a price of 1.73 for both to score compared to 1.80 for Overs I know which one I prefer. A 1-1 draw could suite both as it's another point to just tick things along and therefore both to score is my bet. If one side keeps a clean sheet I'll be stunned.
Good Luck.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Sunderland 1-1 Rovers
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Both Teams to Score at 1.733
