West Brom vs Blackburn Rovers Betting Pick | English Premier

English Premier

2012-04-07 - West Brom vs Blackburn Rovers

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

West Brom v Blackburn Rovers
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 7 April 2012 - Kick Off 3pm

West Brom

Roy Hodgson will not have been happy to see two of his players get into each other's faces in full view of the public as they did at Goodison Park last week and he is trying to get his side refocused after some poor performances of late. They also don't want to be dragged into a late relegation fight as the teams below them all had good results last weekend.

West Brom are 14th in the Premier League table but they are now just 8 points clear of Blackburn Rovers and Wigan Athletic in the relegation zone. They have a 4-2-9 home record this season, scoring 15 goals and conceding 19 and will want to improve that against their opponents to push them out of any potential danger.

The team had won 3 Premier League games on the bounce, but have since picked up just 1 point from their last 4 games. West Brom did beat Chelsea and Sunderland here in recent League games, but were beaten comfortably 1-3 by Newcastle United in their last home game. The Baggies have lost 4 of their last 6 at the Hawthornes in the League.

Hodgson has some injury concerns as James Morrison, Jerome Thomas and Steven Reid all miss out. It will be interesting to see if Peter Odemwingie starts after he squared up to Ben Foster in the 2-0 loss at Everton.

Blackburn Rovers

For 80 minutes, it looked like Blackburn Rovers were going to escape the game with Manchester United with a point, but two late goals for the Champions elect pushed Rovers back into the relegation zone. Steve Kean had seemingly seen his side turn a corner, but defeats, coupled with better performances from the sides below them, means they are in the thick of a relegation battle again.

Blackburn moved back into the relegation zone on goal difference after their 0-2 loss to United but it shows how close the bottom of the table is that 1 point separates 16th place and 19th. They have a 2-6-7 away record in the League this season, scoring 21 goals and conceding a League-high 35 goals.

The team had picked up 10 points from 15 available in the League and that had seemed to have pushed them away from the relegation zone, but back to back defeats, an important one at Bolton Wanderers, has left them in a spot of trouble. Blackburn have lost 3 of their last 4 away games in the Premier League, although the one exception was a 0-2 win at Wolves. That is the single clean sheet they have had in their away games so far this season.

Gael Givet could pass a late fitness test to return to the squad. Steve Kean will be happy to know that he hasn't got any more injury worries in his squad ahead of this game.

Head to Head

West Brom recorded a 1-2 win at Blackburn Rovers earlier this season courtesy of an 89th minute winner from Peter Odemwingie.

The Baggies have won just 1 of their last 5 home games against Blackburn and they were beaten 1-3 here last season.

Prediction

Blackburn Rovers will look at this game as one where they could find themselves with the three points as West Brom are completely out of form.

However, Rovers have also lost a bit of form in the last couple of games and they put in a big effort when losing to Manchester United on Monday night.

I can see both sides going for the points in this game as West Brom can all but secure their place in the League for next season, while Blackburn will recognise this as a game that they need to take points from if they are to avoid relegation themselves.

Both sides are likely to get on the scoreboard in this one, especially considering the away form Blackburn have shown all season, and I just have a feeling we will see a winner in this game as both push forward in search of it.

There are enough players on the pitch to take advantage of any chances that come their way, be it David Hoilett, Yakubu, Shane Long or Peter Odemwingie and I will back the Overs in anticipation of goals.

The Statistics :

WBA LAST SIX HOME FORM
	DATE	RESULT		OPPOSITION
	2012-03-25	L	1-3	H v Newcastle
	2012-03-03	W	1-0	H v Chelsea
	2012-02-25	W	4-0	H v Sunderland
	2012-02-04	L	1-2	H v Swansea
	2012-01-14	L	1-2	H v Norwich
	2012-01-01	L	0-1	H v Everton

BLACKBURN LAST SIX AWAY FORM
	DATE	RESULT		OPPOSITION
	2012-03-24	L	2-1	A v Bolton
	2012-03-10	W	0-2	A v Wolves
	2012-02-25	L	3-0	A v Man_City
	2012-02-04	L	7-1	A v Arsenal
	2012-01-21	D	1-1	A v Everton
	2011-12-31	W	2-3	A v Man_Utd