Eng. Championship
2012-08-18 - Ipswich Town vs Blackburn Rovers
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Championship
Saturday 18 August 2012 - Kick Off 3pm
Ipswich Town
This will be the second full season in charge for Paul Jewell here at Portman Road and it is a little hard to tell what kind of expectations Ipswich Town have for the coming season. They were a mid-table side last season, but it wasn't that long ago that promotion would have been the aim. However, it does seem that another year of mid-table obscurity is on the slate.
Ipswich finished 15th in the table last season, although they had the same number of points between themselves and the Play Offs as there was between themselves and Barnsley who finished just outside of the relegation zone. The Tractor Boys were 11-3-9 at Portman Road, scoring 39 goals and conceding 32. They have already beaten Bristol Rovers at home in the Capital One this season.
The defence has to be a concern for Jewell coming into this season considering they did concede 77 goals last season, a tally only Doncaster Rovers surpassed with 80 goals conceded (Doncaster were relegated as the bottom club). Unsurprisingly, the limited investment in the playing staff this Summer has gone on defensive recruits.
Adam Drury looks set to return to the squad, but Elliot Hewitt misses out.
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers were relegated from the Premier League last season, but Steve Kean somehow continues to hold on to the management job, something that really grates on the fans. It hasn't been an easy Summer for Kean as Shebby Singh, a new Global Advisor for Blackburn, made statements disparaging the manager and Morten Gamst Pederson.
Singh also made some suggestions that Kean would be sacked if Blackburn were to lose three games in a row and this internal row threatens to engulf them in what is a notoriously difficult League to get out of. Blackburn were 2-6-11 in the Premier League away from home last season, scoring 22 goals but conceding a League-high 45.
It is going to be imperative for Blackburn to get off to a good start in the Championship this season as this situation between Kean and the fans is threatening to go into overdrive again. Last season, Ewood Park was not a nice place to go and watch or play football as the tension between the fans and the owners is clear to all.
There have been a lot of comings and goings at Ewood Park, with the likes of David Hoilett and Yakubu leaving the club, but they have brought in Danny Murphy, Dickson Etuhu and Nuno Gomes to give themselves a lot of experience and potential for promotion.
Murphy may just miss out with an injury on Saturday, while Martin Olsson is going to need a late fitness test.
Head to Head
This will be the first meeting between the teams in over ten years when both were Premier League teams.
Ipswich Town and Blackburn Rovers have actually had three consecutive low-scoring draws against one another at Portman Road. The last of those ended 1-1 back in 2001.
Prediction
The Championship is going to be a real wake up call for Blackburn Rovers as they quickly realise that it isn't an easy Division to get out of and not too many relegated teams bounce back to the Premier League at the first try.
This is the kind of game that will show them how tough the League is as Ipswich Town finished in the lower half of the table last season, but are a very tough team to play at Portman Road.
However, I like the signings made by Blackburn and that that leaves me a little unsure which of these teams will open the season with the three points.
The one thing I do like is the chance of there being goals in the contest as Ipswich were capable of scoring goals last season, but conceded them in bunches. They have looked to improve that side of their game, but a League Two managed to score against them in the Capital One Cup and you have to think Blackburn will get their chances.
On the other hand, I expect Ipswich will too considering how poor Blackburn were defensively last season, especially away from home. The Premier League is a higher level, but the Championship sides are capable of exposing these issues if they still exist and so I will go for goals in this one.
The Pick :
Ipswich Town 2-2 Blackburn Rovers
