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Back to business for favourites

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After Thursday’s heroics in the Super Cup, the big two in Spain are back in action on Sunday as Barcelona (4/5 favourite La Liga outright) face a difficult trip to Osasuna, while Real Madrid are involved in a local derby at Getafe.

Despite a number of claims to the contrary by their rivals, it looks as if the La Liga title race will once again be a straight fight between the pair and despite it still being so early in the campaign, their results on Sunday could have a huge bearing on the outcome of the season.

However, despite their class, they certainly won’t have it all their own way, most notably Barcelona who have traditionally struggled in Pamplona (Osasuna 10/1, draw 11/2, Barcelona 2/9).

Osasuna are currently one of the success stories of Spanish football due to them having managed to stabilise themselves in the top flight, despite their lack of resources.

Their achievements has often been built around transforming rough diamonds into stars and Jose Luis Mendilibar’s men will be desperate to prove themselves after losing their opener against Deportivo.

Following a summer of speculation following Pep Guardiola’s departure, it appears to be business as usual at the Nou Camp and so far the Blaugrana have looked almost imperious, most notably in their 3-2 win over Real Madrid on Thursday.

Boss Tito Vilanova has continued with his predecessor’s tactics and will once again expect his team to dominate at El Sadar.

Despite the difference in quality between the two sides, this will undoubtedly be a close one but Barcelona should just sneak through (Barcelona 8/1 to win 2-1).

The second big game of the night sees minnow Getafe take on their illustrious neighbours Real Madrid at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez (Getafe 8/1, draw 4/1, Real 1/3).

After taking the league by storm in 2004, the Azulones have slowly slipped down the standings in recent years and once again look set for another season of struggle.

However, they always rise to the occasion against their local rivals and will fancy themselves to cause an upset on Sunday.

Perhaps surprisingly, Madrid have failed to get anywhere near their heights of last season in their two matches so far and were quite frankly dominated by Barcelona earlier this week.

Following their draw with Valencia last Sunday, Jose Mourinho’s men will be desperate to get their first win of the season under their belts as they prepare for the second leg of the Super Cup on Wednesday.

This looks likely to be a cagey affair in the opening stages but it’s hard to ignore Real’s class and they should eventually record a comfortable victory (Madrid 7/1 to win 3-0).

Elsewhere on Sunday, there’s an Andalucian derby as Granada host Sevilla, while in the late match Valencia will expect to take the points against Deportivo.

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Can Reds and Gunners finally fire?

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There’s two big Premier League games on Sunday with Arsenal and Liverpool both hoping to open their goal accounts but the two top-four hopefuls face tough tests as the Gunners go to Stoke and Brendan Rodgers’ side entertain champions Manchester City.

Stoke v Arsenal (1.30pm)

The early kick-off features the Potters at home to Arsene Wenger’s side with both clubs hoping they can turn the draws they earned on the opening weekend into a win.

Arsenal are favourites to come out on top at 23/10 in the match betting but plenty will see value in the home side triumphing in this with 5/2 looking generous, considering the Potters are traditionally very hard to beat in front of their loud home fans.

Tony Pulis’ side kicked off the campaign with a 1-1 draw at newly-promoted Reading but it was so nearly a 1-0 win as Michael Kightly’s goal was only cancelled out by Adam Le Fondre’s last-minute spot-kick at the Madejski Stadium.

Stoke are always up for it at the Britannia – as are those fans – and Wenger’s men may have to weather an early storm on Sunday lunchtime with the Potters eager to get off to a flying start. With that in mind, Peter Crouch to score the first goal is worth backing at 8/1.

Arsenal have only won once at Stoke in the last four seasons but created enough chances in the ultimately disappointing goalless draw at home to Sunderland in their opener to suggest goals will not be a problem this season, despite Robin van Persie’s exit.

The onus is on summer signings Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud to fill the void left by the Dutchman, while more will be expected from the likes of Theo Walcott in the final third. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain returns to the Gunners’ squad and he could even earn a start with his pace a worry to the Potters.

Including pre-season friendlies, Stoke have drawn their last five games 1-1, which can be backed at 6/1, and another draw could well be the outcome here although an entertaining 2-2 is predicted in the correct score market at an attractive 14/1.

Liverpool v Manchester City (4pm)

All eyes then turn to Anfield for an eagerly-awaited clash between Rodgers’ men and Roberto Mancini’s title favourites. City are on offer at 11/8 to win with Liverpool 2/1 shots and the draw 12/5 in the match betting.

Rodgers could be the first Liverpool manager to lose his first two league games since a certain Bill Shankly suffered that fate and, if the Reds are beaten by the champions – and there will be plenty expecting the visitors to come out on top in this – the pressure will be turned up a notch on the former Swansea chief.

The Merseysiders folded badly when losing Daniel Agger to a red card at West Brom last weekend and ultimately slipped to a thoroughly disappointing 3-0 opening-day defeat.

A workmanlike 1-0 success over Hearts on Thursday in the Europa League will have done little to ease fans’ worries that it will be another difficult season for the Reds and they will hope to raise their game, like they did last season against the better sides, when City come to town.

However, Mancini’s men look too strong, even without Sergio Aguero up front, for a side still very much getting to grips with a new system and manager and expect them to pick up all three points to make it two out of two for the title-chasers.

Their entertaining 3-2 win over Southampton last weekend was a lot closer than many thought and this could equally have just one goal in it with City fancied to triumph 2-1, which is on offer at odds of 9/1.

In Aguero’s absence, Mario Balotelli will hope to get the nod ahead of Edin Dzeko to partner Carlos Tevez up front and the Italian is well worth backing at 7/4 to score anytime.

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Van Persie to spark United

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Twelve Premier League sides are in action at 3pm on Saturday afternoon, with title hopefuls Manchester United (11/5 – Outright) looking to bounce back from defeat at Everton on Monday night.

Manchester United v Fulham

Not many pundits would have expected the Cottagers to be three points better off than United heading into this game, but that is the case after Martin Jol’s men’s five-star display against Norwich City.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side had to wait two extra days to start their campaign but fluffed their lines at Goodison Park amid a defensive injury crisis and a headline-grabbing performance from Toffees star Marouane Fellaini.

United are still stretched at the back for this weekend but the fact Fulham are traditionally poor away from the capital suggests a Robin van Persie-inspired home side will take all three points.

Verdict: Van Persie to score two or more – 9/2

Aston Villa v Everton

Villa endured a season to forget last term but things did not go to plan for Paul Lambert’s first game in charge when they went down 1-0 at promoted West Ham last weekend.

The success of Lambert’s tenure with the Villans will largely be decided in front of the demanding Villa Park faithful who have seen their side slump from Champions League hopefuls to relegation candidates inside only a couple of seasons.

Everton, who shocked Manchester United on Monday, continue to perform miracles under David Moyes on a shoestring budget and have the attacking flair to make it two wins from two following a stalemate at half-time.

Verdict: Draw/Everton – 9/2

Norwich v QPR

There were 10 goals involved in Norwich and QPR’s respective season openers – however neither side managed to find the back of the net as they were spanked by Fulham and Swansea respectively.

QPR’s embarrassment came in front of their own fans at Loftus Road which was a shock given Mark Hughes’ men’s rich vein of home form towards the end of last year.

However, bank on Chris Hughton to lead his side to victory at Carrow Road for his first home game given the fact the Rs have not beaten the Canaries in the last five league games between the clubs.

Verdict: Norwich to win 2-1 – 8/1

Southampton v Wigan

With due respect this is hardly the most glamorous of Premier League games although it was always on the cards they would be pointless going into the match after Saints started with a clash at Manchester City while Wigan lost out to Chelsea.

However, Nigel Adkins’ side managed to score twice against the champions and were actually leading with 20 minutes left to play at Eastlands before Edin Dzeko and Samir Nasri struck for the Blues.

Latics, who are set to lose Victor Moses to Chelsea imminently, are known as slow starters and will have their work cut out at St Mary’s as Saints’ vociferous fans welcome the return of Premier League football to their ground.

Verdict: Saints to win – 11/10

Sunderland v Reading

Sunderland managed to hold Arsenal at the Emirates in their opener which was about as much luck as the Black Cats could have hoped for last weekend.

Since then they have managed to land Steven Fletcher for £14m from Wolves as they look to add a cutting edge to the side which was lacking last season.

But the Royals have a star hitman of their own in the shape of Russian Pavel Pogrebnyak and he has been on board for a while – in contrast to Fletcher who is likely to start this one on the bench.

Verdict: Draw – 5/2

Tottenham v West Brom

Last season this was a battle between veteran managers Harry Redknapp and Roy Hodgson – but neither will be in the dug-outs this time around, with the former out of work and the latter installed as England manager.

Both clubs have taken big gambles on their new men at the helm – Chelsea flop Andre-Villas Boas at White Hart Lane and long-term number two Steve Clarke at the Hawthorns in his first managerial post.

Clarke did get off to a winning start last weekend against former employers Liverpool as AVB’s men lost out to Newcastle.

Regardless, Spurs will have too much for the Baggies on the day and don’t be surprised if Jermain Defoe – in tandem with Emmanuel Adebayor – steals the show now he has found a manager who seems to believe in him again.

Verdict: Defoe hat-trick – 20/1

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Money to burn at Loftus Road

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After QPR’s morale-sapping 5-0 thrashing to Swansea at Loftus Road on the opening day of the season, Mark Hughes has moved quick to try and solve the club’s defensive woes. The wealthy Londoners (7/2 – Relegation) are continuing the splash the cash but is this necessarily going to go hand-in-hand with success this season?

A fee of £9million was agreed with Spurs for the ever-reliable Michael Dawson while the Hoops also agreed a season-long loan deal with Real Madrid for Ricardo Carvalho. With Jose Bosingwa signed too late to face Swansea it means Hughes could field a completely new-look back four against Norwich on Saturday, with Ryan Nelsen also expected to start (Norwich 5/4, draw 12/5, QPR 11/5).

QPR have also been linked with Inter Milan goalkeeper Julio Cesar, which could suggest Hughes is not completely won-over by new signing Robert Green following his howler for the first Swansea goal last weekend.

This summer the club have already brought in Junior Hoillet, Park Ji-sung, Samba Diakite, Green, Nelses, Andrew Johnson, Fabio and Bosingwa, with more new faces expected to join Dawson and Carvalho at Loftus Road before the transfer window closes. Indeed, they have been linked with Ryan Shawcross, Jermain Defoe and Kurt Zouma – it seems nailed on the already-bloated QPR squad will be extended further before too long.

All these moves, especially the defensive ones in the wake of the Swansea hammering, has led many onlookers to question their transfer policy and there have been suggestions QPR are ‘panic buying’ – which is something Tony Fernandes has been quick to hit back at.

The Chairman took to Twitter to say: “Wages are less than last year 15 players already left. And we have spent a net of 1.5 million this year. We have a fantastic team led by our very committed manager Mark. There is no panic and no overspending. ”

Ever since QPR (125/1 – Top 4 Finish) were taken over by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore in August 2007 the club have seemed to wastefully spend money and hire/fire countless managers in the search for success, and this has showed no signs of abating under successive owners.

The club’s PR activity wasn’t helped by the broadcast of ‘The Four Year Plan’ which showed the extraordinary, and sometimes shocking, behind-the-scenes activity over four years as the Hoops strived to get back in the Premier League.

If you look at the new faces signed this summer, five players are over 30 and Carvalho, 34, will become the sixth and also the 19th thirty-plus player in total on the books at Loftus Road. While most teams in the Premier League are looking towards nurturing youth and working within UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations, the west London club seem to be going down a different path.

QPR are striving for success but the way they are going about it means eyebrows are being raised up and down the country. While it is true that Dawson and Carvalho are good defenders, Hughes cannot just parachute them in and expect a sturdy Hoops defence from day one.

Whether their philosophy will work remains to be seen, but the revolution is going to be televised.

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Forest ready for Bolton battle

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Nottingham Forest have made a positive start to their Championship campaign and will make the trip to the Reebok Stadium on Friday confident they can get something from their clash with Bolton Wanderers (Bolton Wanderers Evens, draw 5/2, Nottingham Forest 13/5 – Match Betting).

The Reds claimed a win on the opening day of the season with a 1-0 home victory over Bristol City, followed by a hard fought 1-1 draw against Huddersfield Town in West Yorkshire in midweek from which they were unlucky not to claim the three points from.

Manager Sean O’Driscoll has made his side hard to beat in their opening games and it looks like Forest (7/2 – Promotion Outright) will be in the mix for the play-offs come the end of the regular season.

Backed by their new Kuwaiti owners, Forest have been able to make some strong signings over the summer and they are likely to add to the squad at the City Ground before the window closes at the end of the month.

The signing of Simon Cox from West Brom already looks like it will pay off over the course of the season, as he found the net against the Terriers on Tuesday and looked a threat throughout.

With the likes of Lewis McGugan  and Dexter Blackstock in their ranks, Forest have some real attacking threats who are bound to get chances presented to them on Friday night against a Bolton outfit who have already shown they can be vulnerable at the back this term.

The Whites had a rude awakening to life in the Championship when they were comfortably beaten 2-0 by Lancashire rivals Burnley last weekend.

That result at Turf Moor will have been a bitter pill to swallow for Trotters boss Owen Coyle against his former employers but he will have been pleased with his side’s display in midweek when they saw off Derby County 2-0 at the Reebok.

Bolton (7/1 – Championship Outright) will be a tough proposition on home soil this term, as they have been able to keep hold of many of their key players who dropped down from the Premier League last season.

Mark and Kevin Davies form the spine of the team in the upper half of the pitch and Coyle will need to keep both those players at the club beyond the transfer window if they are to be successful in the second tier of English football.

The strong back two of Matthew Mills and Zat Knight will be tough to break down and the pair of Keith Andrews and Chris Eagles in the middle of the park will add an extra attacking threat that Forest will have to be wary of.

This certainly looks like it will be a very close game and it could go either way, depending on who can make the most of their chances.

It looks like there could well be a share of the spoils which would probably make O’Driscoll the happier of the two managers as Forest (12/1 – Championship Outright) would maintain their unbeaten record in the league this season.

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Reds to break Scottish Hearts

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Liverpool and Newcastle are in European action on Thursday night as they look to cement their place in the group stages of the Europa League. The Reds have already seen off Belarusian outfit FC Gomel to reach this round and will hope for a similar result when they face Scottish outfit Hearts. Meanwhile, the Toon travel to Greece looking to achieve a positive result against Atromitos Athens.

Atromitos Athens v Newcastle 6pm

Newcastle fans haven’t seen their side in European action for over five years so will be eager for the Toon to continue their recent revival when they travel to Greece. The Magpies were one of the teams of the season last term as they finished fifth, ahead of the likes of Chelsea, Everton and Liverpool.

Alan Pardew’s men look to have picked up from where they left of last season if Saturday is anything to go by, beating Tottenham 2-1 at St James’ Park in their Premier League opener. However, punters can expect Pardew to field a much-changed team in the Greek capital having left Demba Ba and Cheick Tiote at home.

New boys Vurnon Anita, Gael Bigirimana and Romain Amalfitano could get their first starts, while Steve Harper, Mike Williamson and Ryan Taylor could also feature. Teenage striker Alan Campbell is also part of the squad but isn’t expected to start.

Thursday’s opponents have yet to get their season underway but certainly shouldn’t be underestimated after finishing fourth in the Greek Super League last season. However, they are without their top goalscorer Konstantinos Mitroglou, who banged in 17 goals while on loan from Olympiakos.

With Atromitos lacking a goal threat and given Newcastle’s good defensive record you’d fancy the Toon to at least get a draw. Newcastle are 6/5, with the Greek’s 9/4 and the draw 23/10.

Hearts v Liverpool 7:45pm

The Reds faithful will be desperate to forget about Saturday’s disastrous start to the Premier League season following Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to West Brom. Much like Pardew at Newcastle, Brenadan Rodgers have opted to make wholesale changes for the trip north of the border.

Skipper Steven Gerrard, Luis Suarez, Martin Skrtel, Glen Johnson, Joe Cole, Oussama Assaidi and Jose Enrique won’t travel to Edinburgh, with Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam, Jay Spearing, Jonjo Shelvey and Andy Carroll all in line to start.

Liverpool’s opposition have made a solid start to the SPL season with a win and two draws but should be no match for the Reds. Hearts have had another tough summer, with ten players leaving the club and two joining as their financial issues continue. The Jambos have managed to keep hold of Andrew Driver, John Sutton and David Templeton, and that trio will be key to Hearts if they are to pull off what would be a huge upset.

A draw wouldn’t be the worse result for Liverpool but Rodgers will be desperate to secure a win ahead of a huge test against champions Manchester City on Sunday. Hearts are 6/1 to win the match, with the Reds 8/15 and the draw 11/4.

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Well face tough Spanish test

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Stuart McCall’s Motherwell side will have to show some steel if they are going to secure a first leg lead from the Europa League Play-off first leg clash against Spanish Primera Liga side Levante at Fir Park on Thursday.

Well dropped into the Europa League after Greek giants Panathinaikos ended their Champions League dream at the first hurdle and they have now been given a draw which is akin from being thrown out of the fire and into the frying pan.

Valencia’s other club, Levante, are enjoying their first taste of European football and arrive having recently sold star striker Arune Kone to Wigan Athletic, but Juan Ignacio Martinez still boasts a wealth of talent which can pose problems to Motherwell.

Veteran Greek hitman Theofanis Gekas was immediately drafted in to replace Kone and will look to hit the ground running with a goal in Scotland.

Levante got their La Liga campaign underway with a 1-1 home draw against last season’s Europa League winners Atletico Madrid at the weekend so will no doubt fancy their chances of gaining a satisfactory result.

McCall’s men won 2-1 at Kilmarnock at the weekend so come into the fixture on a high note and the former Scotland international is set to stick with the 4-4-2 formation he utilised in the Panathinaikos home tie for the game.

Simon Ramsden is out of the match which means Adam Cummins should partner Simon Hutchinson at the back.

Levante’s form this season is difficult to assess so early, but the fact they recorded wins over eventual La Liga champions Real Madrid, Champions League qualifiers Malaga, Europa League winners Atletico Madrid and finalists Athletic Bilbao last term suggests they are a capable unit.

A crumb of comfort for Motherwell is the Spanish outfit’s disappointing away form as they won only five from 19 away games in the league last season, have not won on the road since March and have been known to rely heavily on their home form in two-legged cup ties.

Therefore, if Motherwell are to progress in the Europa League then the outcome of Thursday’s match is likely to be crucial. But, whether they will have enough to take a lead to Spain for the second leg is a doubt.

Prediction: Draw 90 Minutes @ 5/2
Value Bet: 1-1 Correct Score @ 11/2

Meanwhile, Levante’s Spanish rivals Athletic Bilbao should have no problems in overcoming A HJK Helsinki side which was dumped out of the Champions League qualification at the hands of Celtic and this is reflected in the 2/13 odds for them to win Thursday’s home tie.

Italian giants Inter Milan (12/1 Outright joint favourites) face a tricky first leg trip to face Romanian outfit FC Vaslui, but Andrea Stramaccioni’s men should have just enough at 4/6 to secure a lead to take back to the San Siro.

Steve McClaren guided then Premier League club Middlesbrough to the 2006 final of this competition. And, the former England coach will look to repeat that feat with Dutch side FC Twente this season. But his side are facing a tough first leg play-off trip to Turkey to face Bursaspor.

FC Twente defeated Czech side Mlada Boleslav 2-0 home and away in the previous round and have won their opening two league games against Groningen and NAC Breda respectively, so are on a high at the moment and 11/8 for a first leg away win looks a decent price.

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Mourinho has Real chances

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It has not taken long for Spain’s big two to be given the opportunity to strike the first psychological blow in the title race as they square off in the first-leg of the Spanish Super Cup on Thursday at the Nou Camp, kick off at 9pm.

This is not as common a fixture as one might think given the two clubs’ dominance of the Spanish league, with the Copa del Rey perhaps not treated with as much respect as the FA Cup for example.

However, these two giants did clash in the Super Cup last season after Jose Mourinho won his first piece of silverware for Real via the Cup route, with Barcelona coming out on top.

The Blaugrana secured a 2-2 draw at the Bernabeu in the first-leg before edging the return encounter 3-2 to land the spoils – although it was not a portent of things to come.

The two arch rivals clashed six times in total last season and although Barcelona only lost one of those matches, it was the crucial league fixture late in the season that effectively ended their hopes of usurping Real at the top.

Pep Guardiola’s men had earlier got the better of Los Merengues 3-1 at the Bernabeu in La Liga and progressed in the Copa del Rey on the back of a 2-1 away win (4-3 on aggregate) but it is the league success that may have given Real the confidence that they can more than compete with the previously perceived ‘best team in football’.

With home advantage, Barcelona have been installed as 5/6 favourites in the match betting following a successful start under Tito Vilanova – a 5-1 home win over Real Sociedad on Sunday.

Real Madrid made a less than convincing beginning to the new campaign as they were held 1-1 at the Bernabeu to last season’s ‘best of the rest’ Valencia, and they are available at 3/1 to get their first win on Thursday, with 11/4 on offer for the draw.

Lionel Messi continued from where he left off last season, bagging a brace at the weekend, and it is no surprise to see him installed as the 5/2 favourite to be the first/last goalscorer on Thursday, 4/7 Anytime.

The price on a home win may well tempt some given Barca’s record at the Nou Camp – it was their road form that let them down in La Liga last season – but the same could be said on Real’s odds of 3/1.

They were not at their best at the weekend but there is no doubt that Mourinho will have his troops ready and motivated for tomorrow’s clash and they rarely put in two disappointing performances on the bounce.

More can certainly be expected of Cristiano Ronaldo, who is priced at 4/1 to open the scoring and 11/10 anytime, with Sunday scorer Gonzalo Higuain next best at 7/1 and 15/8 respectively.

Mourinho’s men have a pretty good record at the Nou Camp of late with a win, two draws and one defeat from their last four visits so it could well pay to oppose the home side.

Regardless of the victor, there has been a strong trend of goals between the two, which is unsurprisingly reflected in the betting – Over 2.5 Goals at 8/13, Under 2.5 Goals at 6/5, while 4 or more goals is on offer at 7/4.

It is of course a two-legged affair so there may not be that sort of desperation from the side that is behind but at odds of 50/1 a 2-2 draw, which occurred twice last season, could reward those searching for the big prices.

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Reading target capital gains

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Reading rescued a late point against Stoke City on their return to the Premier League on Saturday but face an altogether different challenge against FA Cup and Champions League winners Chelsea on Wednesday.

Adam Federici guaranteed himself an appearance on a Christmas blooper DVD when he gifted the Potters the lead but Adam Le Fondre spared his blushes with a late penalty.

It was a fair result and no more than Brian McDermott’s newcomers deserved for a late onslaught, while Tony Pulis must have felt he’d had his pocket picked.

Stoke had been the better side for the majority of the game but nerves may have got the better of Reading. They will need to improve for a tough assignment in west London, and difficult first road trip against Chelsea, who are quoted by Totesport the 9/2 third favourites in the Premier League outright betting.

Roberto Di Matteo’s men pulled off a job-done, 2-0 away win at Wigan at the weekend in which they mustered just three shots on target, while new signing Eden Hazard caught the eye.

The DW Stadium encounter highlighted potential flaws at the back and suggestions Chelsea’s defenders do not enjoy players running at them, while Fernando Torres might have made the game more comfortable.

The last time the two sides met was in 2008 when the Blues pulled off a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge thanks to a Michael Ballack goal, so there is little to go on here in terms of recent history and the personnel have changed markedly for both sides.

Chelsea will be confident of a first win on home soil this season and this is reflected in the price of 1/4 in the match betting, with the draw quoted 9/2 and the Royals priced up the 12/1 rags.

Torres had an effort cleared off the line at Wigan and might have won his side a penalty on another day. The Spain striker is the 3/1 favourite in the First and Last Goalscorer market and 8/11 Anytime to open his account for the season.

Another option here would be to go split stakes on the 1-0 (13/2) and 2-0 (11/2) correct score outcomes, working on the theory McDermott might look to flood his midfield and stifle Chelsea.

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Rovers set for mauling by Tigers

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With the pain of relegation still fresh in the memory, Blackburn Rovers still have extremely fragile confidence despite a summer of big spending. Their first home game of the season sees them play Hull City and the Yorkshire side appear primed to pile more misery on Rovers’ beleaguered supporters (Blackburn 10/11, draw 5/2, Hull 3/1 in the match betting).

Rovers will be hoping for a fast start against The Tigers at Ewood Park, with the grumblings of discontent among the supporters showing no signs of easing.

The Lancashire outfit’s relegation last May was the culmination of a hugely disappointing season both on and off the pitch.

On it Steve Kean’s men struggled to find any consistency, while off it, the fans loudly voiced their opposition to both Kean and the club’s Indian owners, Venky’s.

The atmosphere around Ewood was poisonous, unpleasant and at times aggressive. Kean will be all too aware that a poor start against Hull will see the moans and groans return.

Rovers have been busy in the transfer market so far this summer in a bid to ensure immediate promotion, bringing in eight new players, including Colin Kazim-Richards, Nuno Gomes, Danny Murphy, Leon Best and Dickson Etuhu.

Four made their debuts against Ipswich on Saturday with one of those, Kazim-Richards, giving Rovers the lead (Kazim-Richards 11/2 to score first on Wednesday).

That looked to be enough for Rovers but they paid the price for sitting back and trying to hang onto their lead when Ryan Lowe scored a late own-goal to ensure a share of the spoils.

Co-owners Balaji Rao and Venkatesh Rao as well as global adviser Shebby Singh watched the game against the Tractor Boys amid speculation Kean may lose his job should Rovers make a poor start.

Singh even had to apologise over the summer when he suggested Kean would be sacked if Rovers lost three games in a row while speaking at a fans’ forum.

It all means there will be nerves aplenty upon kick-off in Lancashire, with the atmosphere once again threatening to turn toxic if the home side make a poor start.

Hull will be no doubt aware of that and will look to capitalise on the disharmony on the terraces by striking early.

The Tigers travel across the Pennines on a high after a 1-0 victory over Brighton at the KC Stadium on Saturday. Jay Simpson came off the bench to grab the only goal at the KC and is handily priced at  15/2 to do so again.

Boss Steve Bruce arrived earlier in the summer charged with launching a sustained promotion bid this season and he has already brought in six new players – Nick Proschwitz, Sone Aluko, Alex Bruce, Abdoulaye Faye, Ben Amos and Eldin Jakupovic.

With at least two more expected to follow before the deadline and a run of just one defeat in seven games in pre-season, the club look well set to claim their first win at Blackburn since 1986.

Their odds of 3/1 appear great value given Blackburn’s off-field disharmony, with even more value found in the half time/full time markets.

Blackburn and their fans will be nervous, while Hull will be determined to capitalise on that so a strong opening from the visitors is likely. A Hull City double half time/full time result has great odds of 6/1 and appears the value bet in this encounter.

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