The Ewood Park outfit are on the look-out for a new man after Steve Kean finally seemed to give in to fans’ pressure, saying his position had become “untenable”.

This time last year Redknapp was nailed on to become Fabio Capello’s eventual successor in the England job but it never materialised, with the post going to Roy Hodgson, and Redknapp eventually then being ousted at White Hart Lane (Spurs 7/4 – Top-Four Finish).

All of which leaves the former Bournemouth, West Ham, Portsmouth, Southampton and Tottenham chief out of work and looking for his next challenge in the game.

However, the 65-year-old has moved to distance himself from reports linking him with a switch to the Championship with Rovers.

He told Sky Sports News: “I woke up and saw the papers and they said I was supposed to be at an interview for the Blackburn job. It’s complete nonsense, obviously.

“It’s a good club and it’s a good job for somebody but it’s not one I’ll be pursuing. When we saw the speculation my representative Paul Stretford spoke with them to clear up where it was coming from but it’s not something I would look to do.

“They’re a good club with a good squad and good support but it’s not for me.”

Redknapp also confirmed he has failed to be seduced by job offers from abroad which is probably explained by his happy family life on the south coast.

A few years back he was thought to be a strong candidate for Newcastle but it seems the thought of uprooting his wife, or being away from home for too long, ultimately meant he was a non-runner to take over from Sam Allardyce.

All of which means Redknapp is likely to stay out of the game until a big club in the south of England comes calling for his services although the options are far from numerous.

The most obvious is rock-bottom Premier League outfit QPR but chairman Tony Fernandes looks set to persevere with Welshman Mark Hughes for a while longer despite the growing pressure at Loftus Road (QPR 15/8 – Relegation).

The likes of Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea and Fulham also look fairly comfortable with their current managers at the moment which raises the prospect of Redknapp being asked to work his second-tier magic by getting a club up into the promised land of the Premier League.

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However, it looks like there will be two very different teams that take the field at the Bridge this week from the ones who played in the 3-2 victory for United on Sunday.

For the Blues they will, of course, be without striker Fernando Torres and defender Branislav Ivanovic, as they were both sent off in the defeat to the Red Devils, while skipper John Terry is still serving a suspension.

The absence of the influential trio will give some of the fringe players at Chelsea a chance to impress manager Roberto Di Matteo, who will be looking for a bit of revenge following the weekend’s events.

Former Wigan Athletic striker Victor Moses could get a rare start up front and may well partner Daniel Sturridge, in what could be a decent pairing that will cause the United defence problems.

As for the Red Devils, manager Sir Alex Ferguson is likely to rest strike duo Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie for the return to the capital, as they prepare to face Arsenal at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Saturday.

Michael Keane, Marnick Vermijl and Scott Wootton have all been touted as youngsters who could be given a chance against the Blues.

The changes to both teams should defuse what would have been a highly-charged encounter and, based on the strength of players coming into their side, Chelsea should book their place in the quarter-finals, with United possibly having one eye on their clash with the Gunners.

In another encounter on Wednesday, Norwich City are set to host an ever-improving Tottenham outfit at Carrow Road (Norwich 16/5, draw 13/5, Tottenham 5/6 – Match Betting).

Spurs will be making plenty of changes for their clash with Canaries as they prepare for their fourth game in 12 days, after all their efforts in the Premier League and Europa League.

Hugo Lloris is expected to be given a chance between the sticks, as he desperately looks to nail down a regular spot in the starting XI under manager Andre Villas-Boas.

Norwich boss Chris Hughton is also likely to swap things about but he will have to do without the services of defender Russell Martin, who picked up a back problem in the 1-1 draw with Aston Villa over the weekend.

These two sides met early in the Premier League season and it ended in a 1-1 draw but Spurs have improved since then and they should come out on top.

In the other game on Wednesday night, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers takes on his former club Swansea City at Anfield in a battle of two teams who like to pass the ball (Liverpool 4/9, draw 10/3, Swansea 13/2 – Match Betting).

Liverpool have been forced to use their youngsters regularly this season and the defending League Cup title holders will once again look to the youth at the club.

The Swans have been struggling to pick up wins in the Premier League and they will be keen to focus on their exploits in the top flight in their bid for survival.

Liverpool, especially on home soil, should have too much for the Swans and the Reds look like they will progress further in the competition once again.

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Leeds v Southampton

Leeds (6/4 to win) were impressive in despatching an in-form Everton at Elland Road in the last round however they have faltered since that night. Neil Warnock’s side have won only one of their last five Championship matches – though defeat to Birmingham last time out was their first loss in eight in all competitions.

The trio of Lee Peltier, Rodolph Austin and Michael Tonge all face fitness tests, while Leeds will be without Ryan Hall as he is ineligible having featured for Southend earlier in the competition.

Southampton (7/4 to win, draw 12/5) are making the trip to West Yorkshire having lost to Tottenham at the weekend, which was their seventh defeat in nine games. The Saints will take heart from the fact they controlled the second half and should have really taken something from the game.

Forward Tadanari Lee is in contention to play at Elland Road having recovered from an elbow injury, while Frazer Richardson is back and could play against his former club. The Saints have lost all four games on the road and if Leeds can reproduce the form at Elland Road they showed against Everton it could be a long evening for Southampton.

Sunderland v Middlesbrough

It’s a north-east derby at the Stadium of Light and Sunderland manager Martin O’Neill seems set to make changes following their goalless draw with Stoke at the weekend. The Black Cats have struggled for goals so far this season, with six draws and only one win from their opening eight league games.

Middlesbrough will be full of confidence as they have won four games on the trot and climbed the Championship table. Merouane Zemmama is back from a hamstring problem but Jonathan Woodgate and Marvin Emnes face late fitness tests.

Boro have won their first three rounds away from the Riverside and could have enough to defeat a depleted Sunderland in a feisty derby encounter (Sunderland 4/6, draw 13/5, Middlesbrough 9/2).

Swindon v Aston Villa

Swindon could fancy their chances of shocking Premier League side Aston Villa, who have only won one league game so far this season and scored only seven goals. Paolo Di Canio’s side beat second-placed Stevenage 4-0 away at the weekend, ending their opponent’s 18-match unbeaten home run. Swindon can county Premier League Stoke and two Championship sides among their Capital One Cup victims already this season.

Villa did shock Manchester City in the last round of the Capital One Cup but confidence remains low around the club and, in total, its only two wins in 25 league games. Swindon have scored at least three goals in all their League Cup ties this season and, given their opponents leaky defence, Di Canio will fancy goals at the County Ground (Swindon 12/5, draw 12/5, Villa 11/10).

Wigan v Bradford

Wigan (2/7 to win) got their first home win of the season against West Ham at the weekend and Roberto Martinez will hope that confidence boost will see them through against Bradford. The League Two side are the lowest-ranked club left in the cup and went down 1-0 to Burton Albion on Saturday.

Martinez is likely to turn to Mauro Boselli, who has got three Capital One Cup games this season and bagged a hat-trick in the reserves. Bradford’s loss at Burton was their fourth away defeat, and it would require a huge effort to pull off a shock at the DW Stadium.

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The newly promoted Royals have yet to win in the Premier League this season and are currently languishing down in 18th place.

Their form in the Capital One Cup though is at odds with their results in the league, with victories over Peterborough and QPR putting them on the brink of the quarter-finals. However, in their nine previous meetings with the Gunners they have lost every time.

Arsene Wenger’s side received a bye in the second round due to their presence in Europe but thumped Coventry 6-1 to reach this stage.

The London club’s form since has been patchy, having lost away to Norwich last Saturday before being convincingly brushed aside by Schalke in the Champions League in midweek.

Senior club officials then faced a grilling at the club’s AGM, with disgruntled shareholders concerned at the direction the club is headed following the sale of star striker Robin van Persie in the summer.

Their 1-0 win over QPR at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday helped to ease the gloom and end a difficult week on a high, moving them up to sixth place in the Premier League in the process.

Despite that success over the Hoops, expect a much changed side to take to the field at the Madejski Stadium as Wenger hands experience to several of his young players.

The likes of Nico Yennaris, Francis Coquelin and Serge Gnabry will be given the chance to impress, while the likes of Andrey Arshavin and Theo Walcott may also be given a run-out to maintain match sharpness.

Despite their struggles in the league, Reading boss Brian McDermott has fielded strong teams in his two Capital One Cup ties to date, though he will definitely be without Jem Karacan, who is out for six weeks with a knee injury.

Hal Robson-Kanu, who scored a late equaliser in the 3-3 draw with Fulham on Saturday, could be promoted to the starting line-up, though fellow forward Noel Hunt is a doubt.

A key attacking player for Reading will be Pavel Pogrebnyak. The Russia striker moved on a free transfer from Stuttgart over the summer and has scored in both the Royals’ league cup ties to date. His rather generous odds of 7/1 to net first are well worth considering.

For the Gunners, it may be worth looking at some of the more experienced players that will be taking to field when considering first goalscorer bets.

Theo Walcott was in decent form before picking up a rib injury on international duty and is priced at 6/1 to net first, while Marouane Chamakh is 5/1 to score on a rare first-team appearance.

Despite the number of expected changes in the Gunners side, it is hard to look beyond them in this fixture. The quality of their squad players and the youngsters from the academy should mean they have enough overcome McDermott’s men fairly comfortably.

An inexperienced defence may mean they let one slip at the back, but there is enough firepower in the squad to consider backing the 3-1 Arsenal victory priced at 14/1.

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The Blades remain unbeaten in the third tier of English football under manager Danny Wilson and will go level with league leaders Tranmere if they can claim all three points on home soil. United (9/4 League One outright) have hardly been ripping teams apart with only one goal being the difference in their last five wins in League One.

But that won’t bother Wilson at all, as his side have shown themselves to be more than capable of getting a lead and doing enough to grind out wins, in what is a tough league to get promoted from.

Striker Nick Blackman (9/2 first goalscroer) has been key for the South Yorkshire outfit this season and with seven goals to his name so far, Wilson will be looking to the youngster the get on the scoresheet once again on Monday.

There are no fresh injury concerns for United following their 1-0 win over Walsall in their last outing and forward Dave Kitson (5/4 Anytime goalscorer) looks set to recover from a virus in time to take on his former club Portsmouth and he will be looking to add to just his three goals this term.

As for the visitors to Bramall Lane, Pomey have lost the services of loan man Wes Thomas who has returned to his parent club Bournemouth and manager Michael Appleton will have to consider a different partner for leading goalscorer Izale McLeod. Having scored nine goals this term, McLeod is going to be the main threat that the Blades will have to keep tabs on if they want to avoid an upset on home soil.

A big boost for Portsmouth is that keeper Mikkel Andersen has managed to recover from a knock on his hip to make the trip up to Yorkshire, although midfielder Darel Russell is again going to be an absentee through injury.

The South Coast outfit were on a decent run of form until their last game when they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Stevenage. However before that they were five games unbeaten in League One with four wins in that spell, which has seen the side start to climb the table.

Of course the financial restraints are going to limit what the side from Fratton Park can do this season but on current form they can certainly push up towards the playoff places.

Bramall Lane is going to be a tough place for any side to go to this season and it looks like United will be the ones celebrating the three points come the final whistle but again don’t expect the Blades to run away with it (7/1 Sheffield Utd 1-0 correct score).

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Real Sociedad

The two sides occupy positions in the middle ground of the relatively early league standings with Valladolid sitting one point ahead of Sociedad going into the game.

But, despite the fact the two sides have both won three of their opening eight games to date, it does not tell the full story going into this encounter at the Estadio Municipal Jose Zorilla.

Valladolid, who lost out at Malaga away from home last week thanks to a late goal for the hosts, have won two and drawn one of their four games on home soil so far, including a 6-1 thrashing of Rayo Vallecano at the end of September and can be backed at 11/10 to win this one.

However, the problem facing coach Miroslav Djukic is the loss of star striker Manucho Goncalves to suspension, while Lluis Sastre is set to miss out despite being near to a return after a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Valladolid’s Basque visitors have stayed strong on their home patch with three successive wins before last Sunday’s 1-0 defeat against Atletico Madrid.

However, away from home has been a different story and coach Philippe Montanier will be desperate to find a formula to end a painful run of defeats against mainly lower league opposition in which they have only scored two goals and conceded 10.

Real Sociedad, 12/5 to win, have a host of injury doubts with Claudio Bravo, Ruben Pardo, Diego Irfan, Inigo Martinez and Liassine Cadamuro all looking to shake off respective problems to feature, while David Zurutuza and Gorka Elustondo are definitely out.

Past history is difficult to use to try and determine an outcome as the two sides have not met in La Liga since the 2003-04 campaign and that match ended all square in a 2-2 draw in Valladolid.

Sociedad have won almost twice as many meetings between the two clubs with 11 to six and there have been five draws.

On the basis that Valladolid will go into the game on the back of a moral denting defeat at Malaga, we feel Sociedad can finally stop the rot and secure a point in a low-scoring stale-mate.

Prediction: Draw 90 Minutes @ 9/4
Value Bet: 1-1 Correct Score @ 11/2

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Chelsea

Chelsea vs Manchester United 4pm

Roberto Di Matteo’s men have got off to a flyer this season, and with the midfield trio of Juan Mata, Oscar and Eden Hazard lighting up the Premier League, it is no surprise.

A four-point lead at the top of the table is everything they deserve.

Mata is 8/1 to score the first goal, while his Spain team-mate Fernando Torres can be backed at 40/1 to get a hat-trick. Worth a punt when you consider the fragilities of Sir Alex Ferguson’s back four.

Chris Smalling is set to make his return, but Rio Ferdinand, Jonny Evans and company have looked woeful this season.

The former champions shipped three goals at home to Tottenham – almost unheard of – and are struggling in midfield against the league’s better sides.

Only the form of front men Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney can give the Old Trafford outfit anything to smile about at the moment.

With Cheslea’s John Terry suspended, a van Persie double is well worth a gamble at 15/2.

Everton vs Liverpool 1.30pm

Liverpool head to Goodison Park for the first Merseyside derby of the season in the Premier League’s early kick-off on Sunday and the Toffees are surely favourites for this one.

Everton always have an ability to up their game for visits of their closest rivals, but not only that, they have simply been the better team so far this term.

David Moyes’ side have been so strong thanks to their Belgian star Marouane Fellaini – who they hope can recover from a knee problem for Sunday.

If so, Fellaini is a great bet at 8/1 to be the Toffees’ first goalscorer on the day.

But despite Everton’s fantastic start to the season, over confidence could see them unhinged.

Brendan Rodgers has got Liverpool starting to pick up victories, with their last two outings resulting in 1-0 victories. A 1-0 win at Goodison is well worth a punt at 7/1.

Everton have only managed one victory in their last 11 Premier League meetings with Liverpool.

Southampton vs Tottenham 3pm

Southampton will be without record signing Gaston Rarmirez for the visit of Tottenham on Sunday.

The south-coast side have rapidly come bouncing back down to earth following their opening salvo after promotion. Nothing but a Spurs victory – 5/6 – is worth backing.

Andre Villas-Boas’ men will hope that they can score some goals to get their confidence up and are 12/1 for a 3-0 victory.

Gareth Bale returns to Spurs’ line-up following the birth of his child and is well worth a gamble to score first against his old club.

Newcastle vs West Brom 3pm

Newcastle will hope to get back to winning ways after their Wear-Tyne draw last Sunday.

Alan Pardew’s men should be able to achieve just that, as they are evens to pick up a home win.

The strike duo of Demba Ba – 4/1 to score first – and Papiss Cisse – 9/2 to score first – should be too much for the Baggies, who have yet to win away from home this season.

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After 12 games, just 10 points separate top from 17th, so there really is all to play for as we edge towards the busy winter period.

Leicester v Crystal Palace

The Foxes, as leaders, appear to be finally realising their potential and are living up to their pre-season tag of outright favourites for the title.

Nigel Pearson’s side, 4/7 to win, have claimed victories in six of their last seven Championship games and will take on the Eagles, shorn of their manager after Dougie Freedman’s departure to Bolton this week.

Expect a home win then as Palace, at long odds of 5/1 to win, will be reeling from Freedman’s somewhat unexpected exit (Draw 11/4).

Prediction: Leicester 2 Palace 0 at 6/1

Leeds United v Birmingham

This is a game at Elland Road which sees two well-supported clubs go head-to-head although it is a difficult one to predict.

Leeds (21/20) have been inconsistent but are just six points off the top and are always tough to beat at home.

Blues, 13/5 to win, on the other hand, have been poor overall under new boss Lee Clark and sit just two places and four points clear of the relegation zone.

However, they came back brilliantly from 3-0 down at Millwall in midweek to draw 3-3 to show their character and will look to build on that with a draw in West Yorkshire (23/10), however difficult that will be.

Prediction: Leeds 1 Birmingham 1 at 11/2

Blackburn v Watford

Rovers say they will have a new manager in charge by next week amid reports Harry Redknapp is ambitiously being lined up by the Ewood Park club’s owners.

Fulham first-team coach Billy McKinlay and Tottenham counterpart Tim Sherwood are also in the frame but it will be Eric Black who leads them again at home to Watford, who are on offer at 3/1 with the draw at 12/5.

Rovers got a morale-boosting 1-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday in the week and should follow that up with another home win in this.

Watford remain frustratingly inconsistent under Gianfranco Zola but will ask questions of Rovers although three points for Black before he again goes back into the shadows is the bet, albeit at a short 10/11.

Prediction: Blackburn 2 Watford 1 at 7/1

Middlesbrough v Bolton

Boro are improving and have the look of a side destined for at least the play-offs this season as they host what could be a rejuvenated Bolton side (13/8) at the Riverside.

Tony Mowbray’s men are now unbeaten in four, having won their last three, and will be confident of seeing off Wanderers (13/8), despite the appointment of Freedman this week.

However, don’t rule out the impact of the ‘new manager bounce’ – even if Freedman is not officially in charge of team affairs this weekend – and back the draw at a tempting 9/4.

Prediction: Middlesbrough 2 Bolton 2 at 14/1

Cardiff v Burnley

Cardiff are again flying high in the Championship in second place as they hope to finally join the top flight after a series of near-misses in the past few years.

They entertain manager-less Burnley and this looks like a home banker, reflected in the unappealing odds of 8/11 for a Bluebirds triumph, while the Clarets are a long 4/1 to win with the draw at 5/2.

Burnley have had two good wins since Eddie Howe left, against Blackpool and in midweek against Bristol City, but this is a much bigger test as they take on the joint leaders.

Cardiff, who have won all six of their home games so far, need to keep the pressure up on the Foxes at the top and nothing other than another three points for Malky Mackay’s men looks the outcome here.

Prediction: Cardiff 3 Burnley 1 at 12/1

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League One

After going 12 games unbeaten at the start of the campaign, Rovers have lost their last two matches and seen their lead at the top of the third tier cut to a single point.

Ronnie Moore’s side still occupy a healthy position, and one which few fans would have imagined at the start of the season, but the picture has changed dramatically since they opened up a seven-point gap over the rest a fortnight ago.

Tranmere could end this weekend as low as fourth, should they fall to a third successive defeat at home to Preston North End on Saturday (Tranmere 6/5, draw 9/4, Preston 9/4 – match betting).

The season is still young and it is easy to get carried away after a good start. Tables can be misleading and, as Tranmere have found out, things can change very quickly.

Moore will not be panicking just yet, but Tranmere fans could be forgiven for thinking this is the beginning of their slide down the table.

The Prenton Park faithful have become accustomed to relegation struggles in recent times. When your club goes through a trot like that, it is usually a case of waiting for the bubble to burst when things are looking up.

Rovers are in good hands, though. Moore has been around the block and knows how to inspire teams to promotion. He will have the players pumped up for the visit of Preston.

Nathan Eccleston joined on a month’s loan from Blackpool this week and could go straight into the starting line-up, with Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro and Jake Jervis sidelined through injury.

Tranmere have hit 31 goals so far this term, the most in League One, while Preston have netted 24 on their way to eighth spot.

It looks set to be an exciting clash at Prenton Park, with a fired-up home side determined to get their promotion charge back on track (3-2 to Tranmere – 25/1).

Elsewhere in the third tier on Saturday, second-placed Stevenage host Swindon Town and Crawley Town (9/1 League One outright) entertain Oldham Athletic. Sheffield United face Portsmouth at Bramall Lane on Monday night.

The pick of the fixtures is arguably the clash between Notts County and Doncaster Rovers at Meadow Lane (Notts County evens, draw 12/5, Doncaster 11/4 – match betting).

Both sides occupy a play-off place going into the weekend’s action but have struggled for consistency so far this season.

County have been excellent on the road but have struggled on home soil, losing three of their seven league fixtures at Meadow Lane.

Likewise, Doncaster have saved their best football for their travels and head to the Midlands on the back of an excellent midweek victory at Tranmere.

That win stretched Doncaster’s unbeaten run to five matches as they look to return to the Championship at the first time of asking.

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Arsenal and Manchester City are looking to bounce back from defeats in the Champions League, while Reading, Aston Villa and Wigan are eager to get back to winning ways.

Arsenal v QPR 3pm

The Gunners have come back from the international break a different team to the one who showed great determination to recover from a goal down to beat West Ham 3-1 before the two-week hiatus.

Back-to-back defeats against Norwich and Schalke have seen Arsene Wenger’s squad fall under the spotlight again, with a few pundits writing off their chances of winning any silverware or finishing in the top four.

A visit from the Premier League’s bottom club should be just the confidence boost Arsenal need but QPR have shown signs of recovery in recent weeks after a horrendous start.

The R’s will have been frustrated not to have taken all three points against Everton last week, a clear sign they are making gradual progress under Mark Hughes.

Summer signings Junior Hoilett, Esteban Granero and Julio Cesar are starting to show their class and Rangers could give Arsenal a few problems.

The Gunners don’t look like scoring right now and if QPR can frustrate the home side for the opening 45 minutes then the Emirates Stadium faithful are likely to turn on their team pretty quickly.

While a win for the west London club at 8/1 isn’t out of the question the draw looks the more likely outcome.

Match bet – Draw @ 4/1

Stoke v Sunderland 3pm

This is unlikely to be a game for the football purist, with plenty of hustle and bustle the order of the day.

Sunderland are the joint-lowest scorers in the league this season with just six goals to their name, five of which have come courtesy of Steven Fletcher. It looks like being a bit of a slog for Martin O’Neill’s men this year unless they can discover a route to goal quickly.

Despite conceding four at Old Trafford last weekend Stoke have proven a tough nut to crack, especially at home.

They have conceded just one goal in the first three matches and won last time out at the Britannia Stadium against Swansea City. The Potters also have a good record at home against Sunderland, winning three of the last four.

With that in mind a Stoke win at 19/20 looks to be the way forward, although the 0-0 draw looks a tempting bet as well at 15/2 given the two clubs history in front of goal.

Match bet – Stoke to win 1-0 @ 6/1.

Wigan v West Ham 3pm

The Hammers will have unhappy memories of their last trip to the DW Stadium having been relegated by the Latics on that occasion.

They were also beaten 4-1 by Wigan in the Capital One Cup earlier this season, although both teams fielded much changed teams for that match.

Despite the recent bad history against Roberto Martinez’s men, West Ham will be confident of continuing their excellent run of form this weekend.

Wigan are going through their usual early-season slump and are yet to win on their own patch, drawing two and losing the other couple of matches at the DW Stadium.

In contrast, the Hammers picked up their first away win of the season at QPR last time they were on their travels.

Sam Allardyce’s men were excellent on the road in the Championship last season and at 23/10 are too big a price to ignore to pick up a win on Saturday.

Match bet – West Ham win @ 23/10

Elsewhere, Manchester City should get back to winning ways against Swansea, while Paul Lambert could bring Norwich’s mini-revival to a halt when Aston Villa take on the Canaries.

As for Reading against Fulham – barring an inspirational performance from Dimitar Berbatov – it game has draw written all over it.

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