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Rovers to worsen Owls woes

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After all the action on Tuesday there is just one game in the Championship on Wednesday night and it will see Sheffield Wednesday make the trip to Ewood Park to take on Blackburn Rovers (Blackburn 10/11, draw 5/2, Sheff Wed 3/1 Match Betting).

The Owls might well need the extra day to recoup after the well-documented events of their last outing against Leeds United last Friday night at Hillsborough. But, putting aside the crowd trouble between the two sets of fans, from a footballing point of view Wednesday will be able to take plenty of positives from the Yorkshire derby, which they really should have claimed three points from.

The Owls dominated much of the first half and were able to keep hold of the ball much better than their previous games, which saw them record one draw and six defeats before the arrival of Leeds.

On-loan striker Jay Bothroyd had arguably his best game for Wednesday since joining the club after a disappointing spell at Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League. The 30-year-old former Cardiff City (4/1 Championship outright) man held the ball up well and was a threat throughout the evening and he will need to produce a similar performance on Wednesday night, if manager Dave Jones and his men are to get anything out of their trip across the Pennines.

As for Blackburn they are still in the hunt for a replacement manager following the departure of Steve Kean. Many names have been linked with the role at Ewood Park, with the likes of Ian Holloway at Blackpool and Fulham coach Billy McKinley having their names bounded about in the media. For the moment Eric Black is the caretaker boss and he will have been disappointed his side were not able to finish off Derby County on the weekend, as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Pride Park.

Having taken the lead through Jordan Rhodes, it was two minutes before time that the Rams were able to get an equaliser, which left Blackburn (8/1 Championship outright) no time to respond.  With four goals to his name this season for Blackburn, Rhodes has shown that he will certainly cope at this level, having made his name in League One with Huddersfield Town.

Wednesday, who have shipped in 22 goals in 11 games this season, will have to be on their guard if they are to keep the Scotland international quiet but it’s likely 22-year-old will get his name on the scoresheet against the Owls.

It’s crucial Blackburn bring in a new manager before they drop anymore important points but even with a caretaker in charge they should have enough to see of Wednesday.

Yes the Owls showed massive signs of improvement against Leeds but they were still unable to keep that all-important clean-sheet and against a Rovers side will plenty of attacking prowess, it’s hard to see Jones’ men coming away from Ewood Park with anything to show for their efforts (Rovers 2-0 correct score).

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Pompey to worsen Wycombe woe

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Portsmouth will be looking to past experience to win the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy this season and the League One outfit will be confident they can avoid a potential banana skin against Wycombe Wanderers on Tuesday night (Portsmouth 8/13 draw 13/5 Wycombe 7/2 – Match Betting) in their second-round tie.

Pompey, who lifted the FA Cup back in 2008, have suffered a steep decline since they beat Cardiff City in that final at Wembley and now sit 17th place in the third tier of English football.

Having made a poor start to the season, the south-coast club are unbeaten in their last three outings, including wins over Scunthorpe United and Yeovil Town.

Manager Michael Appleton will have been disappointed his side were two goals to the good against MK Dons on the weekend before being pegged back to a 2-2 draw.

Izale McLeod has been a standout performer this term for Pompey, with five goals to his name already this term.

The former England Under-21 striker will be a threat to a Wycombe side who put an end to their eight-game winless streak last weekend with a 2-1 victory over Torquay.

Wanderers still sit just above the relegation zone in 22nd place in League Two and face a tough season ahead of them, as they aim to avoid relegation to the conference.

The side are currently being led by captain and now caretaker manager Gareth Ainsworth who will be looking for his side to cause a big upset against Portsmouth.

However, at Fratton Park, Pompey should have too much for Wycombe, who will have bigger concerns of football league survival on their minds (6/1 Portsmouth 2-0 – correct score) this season.

In another cup encounter on Tuesday night Chesterfield make the relatively short 30 miles trip north to face Doncaster Rovers at the Keepmoat Stadium (Doncaster 8/11 draw 5/2 Chesterfield 3/1 – Match Betting).

Rovers find themselves just two points off the play-offs as they settle into life in League One following relegation from the Championship last term.

Manager Dean Saunders has picked up former Chelsea youngster Michael Woods this month, who will be hoping to kick-start his career with Doncaster.

The 22-year-old will have plenty of experienced players around him in the form of Robbie Blake and James Harper so he will learn a lot by playing regularly for Rovers.

Doncaster go up against a Chesterfield outfit who have proved to be a tough nut to crack this term.

With only one defeat in their last 11 outings in all competitions, caretaker managers Tommy Wright and Mark Crossley have a side that will not give up even if they go behind against Rovers.

The Spireites will undoubtedly show plenty of character at the Keepmoat on Tuesday night but Doncaster will have the experience, with the likes of Blake and Harper, to get them through the second round tie (7/1 Doncaster 2-1 correct score).

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Rovers to worsen Reds woe

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Since the start of the year Liverpool have endured one of their poorest runs in their Premier League history and Blackburn Rovers will be looking to compound their misery when they host the Merseysiders at Ewood Park on Tuesday night (Blackburn 5/2, draw 12/5, Liverpool 11/10 – 90 minutes).

The pressure is slowly but surely starting to mount on manager Kenny Dalglish at Anfield and were it not for his iconic status on Merseyside, the Scot may well have found himself looking for new employers following a torrid spell.

Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Aston Villa on Saturday highlighted what has been a season that most supporters of the club will want to forget.

Yes, the Reds have added a League Cup to the cabinet this season but in the bread and butter that is the Premier League, Dalglish’s men have been well off the pace.

The Scot will be looking to get a response from his players when they make the relatively short trip to Lancashire to take on Rovers.

Questions have continued to be raised over striker Andy Carroll’s (11/2 first goalscorer) future with Liverpool, having struggled to consistently find the back of the net since making his £35m move from Newcastle United in January last year.

The England forward started on the bench against Villa but could be given a starting role to combat the physical Rovers back four.

Luis Suarez (9/2 first goalscorer) is a man that Blackburn will be fully aware of and the Uruguayan has the potential to cause the home side all sorts of problems on Tuesday night.

As for Rovers they go into this on the back of a lacklustre performance against West Brom, with the Baggies running out comfortable 3-0 winners at the Hawthorns.

Having looked like they had turned a corner under manager Steve Kean at the start of March with wins over Sunderland, Wolves and a draw with Villa; Blackburn have struggled in recent outings.

The Lancashire outfit rely heavily on strikers Yakubu (11/2 first goalscorer) and David Hoilett for their goals and if the pair are having an off-day, Kean’s side struggle to hit the back of the net.

Both strikers struggled against West Brom who dominated much of the game on Saturday and Liverpool could do much worse than to have a look at the tapes of that game and watch how their former manager Roy Hodgson neutralised Rovers.

Liverpool will be desperate to get back to winning ways on Tuesday night as they hope to end their four game losing streak in the top flight.

Blackburn have raised their game to take on the bigger teams in the Premier League and likewise Liverpool have struggled to secure three points against the so called lesser sides.

This game does not look like it will have too many goals in it considering the form and Dalglish might just have to settle for a point against a resilient Rovers outfit (Correct Score – 1-1 6/1).

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