Eng. Championship
2012-09-18 - Blackburn Rovers vs Barnsley
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Championship
Tuesday 18 September 2012 - Kick Off 7:45pm
Blackburn Rovers
Steve Kean must be quietly very satisfied with the start his Blackburn Rovers side have made to the new season, one that will have kept the fans and the board from sharpening the knives. This week they play two home games and will look to keep the momentum moving forward.
A win over Bristol City at the weekend moved Blackburn to the top of the Championship as they bid to make an immediate return to the top flight. They, along with Nottingham Forest, are one of only two sides yet to taste defeat this season and Rovers have won both home games while scoring 3 goals and conceding 1.
Blackburn beat Hull City and Leicester City in back to back games at Ewood Park and now come back home for the first time since the end of August. These wins also mean Blackburn have won 3 of their last 4 home games going back to last season and they have also won 5 of their last 9 in front of their own fans.
Jordan Rhodes, the 8 million pound signing from Huddersfield, scored twice at the weekend and will continue up front alongside Nuno Gomes. Markus Olsson and Gael Givet may miss out after suffering knocks at the weekend.
Barnsley
Barnsley were one of the most tipped clubs for the drop from the Championship this season, but they are looking to continue to defy the expectations following a good start to the season. However, it is their home form that has been impressive, while they have had it tough on their travels.
The side are 13th in the Championship having earned 7 points so far, but all of those have come at Oakwell. Barnsley are 0-0-2 away from home, scoring 2 goals while conceding 8 and they have also taken a heavy loss in the Capital One Cup at Swansea City.
They have failed to win any of their last 14 games in all competitions going back to early January. Barnsley's away form in the Championship has been terrible in recent months and they have now lost 4 on the bounce and 11 of their last 12.
Luke Steele has recovered from an injury and may take his usual place between the sticks for the away side. Bobby Hassell is suspended while the likes of Jim McNulty, Toni Silva, Jim O'Brien and Mido are all still out with injuries.
Head to Head
These two sides last met in the 2002 FA Cup when Blackburn Rovers beat Barnsley 3-1 at Ewood Park in a replay following a 2-2 draw at Oakwell.
Blackburn had actually failed to win their previous 2 home games against Barnsley, both in League competition, before that FA Cup win.
Prediction
Barnsley have been conceding a lot of goals in their away games so far this season with the tally reaching 13 in their 4 games in all competitions this season.
Both Wolves and Brighton have beaten them comfortably in the League and their last 4 away defeats in the Championship have come by at least 2 goals each.
Now they face a free-scoring Blackburn Rovers side that put 5 past Bristol City over the weekend and also managed 3 goals at Elland Road against Leeds United.
With Jordan Rhodes in the line up, I am expecting Blackburn to have enough fire-power to win the game, although they haven't scored a lot of goals in their previous 2 home games as teams are not likely to be as open as they would in their own home games.
I expect Barnsley will sit back and look to exploit any counter-attacking opportunities, but Blackburn have enough about them to become the latest side to beat them by at least a couple of goals at home.
However, I'll take Blackburn Rovers to cover the Asian Handicap in the knowledge that I will at least get half my stake back if they only win by a solitary goal (as they have in their previous 2 home games this season).
The Pick :
Blackburn Rovers 2-0 Barnsley
