Blackburn Rovers vs Manchester United
FreeNeed outright wins instead of value picks? Click here for strike rate and other consultancy details. Want to obtain team news from around the world or tips that aren’t published on the main part of the site? Click here for membership details.
We’re always looking for new recruits to help us so please click here if you want to join the team although please don’t bother if you’re lazy!
Today’s secondary featured game is the Premier League game in the north-west of England between Blackburn Rovers and Manchester United. I don’t quite know what it is but these games do tend to be a lot closer than league table would indicate. Perhaps it’s down to the old rivalry that existed in the 90’s; who knows? All I would say is that this game is not a banker win for United, contrary to what the bookies seem to think.
A lot was made of Vidic being injured for the season at the time but I wasn’t too concerned, primarily because I know when Fergie requires him more than the others. You see, United aren’t like Barcelona or Real Madrid – they don’t base their play on great individuals but rather they outsmart their opponents tactically and thus have plenty of options to win their respective games, which is why United win so many games.
Why is that important here? Well, the defender that United use to combat big, strong strikers is Vidic. United have some excellent defenders but they don’t have a backup for Vidic and this is the type of game where it could hurt United because there aren’t many bigger or stronger strikers in the Premier League right now than Yakubu. Yakubu bullied United in the reversal of this fixture a few months ago and although United were well below-par that day, the fact remains that if Blackburn service Yakubu correctly, then he will score.
Ultimately, you would have to expect United to win, especially after City committed yet another horrific blunder as their title push falls to pieces all around them due to fatigue, a lack of depth, and a manager bottling the tough times. United will be further motivated as to serve a mental blow to City, not only because of the opening points gap but also because Mancini ridiculously said that he thought this game today would be a draw. It may well turn out to be a draw but he looks like a bit of a prat if it isn’t, doesn’t he? Fergie knows how to motivate his players for games like these and United have demonstrated innumerate times over the past few weeks that they know how to win without playing well, just as they did against Fulham in their last game.
So, yeah – United should win the game but I see no value in that option. Let’s not forget how important this game is for Blackburn too and how few times United have actually won at Ewood Park in recent years and then we can happily ignore the 1×2 market. Instead, let’s look at both sides scoring because at 4/5 it looks a bit of a steal to me with the proviso that Blackburn attack as they normally do.
Verdict: Both sides to score at 4/5.
Monday’s Picks
As ever, if there are any explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the remainder of my thoughts on today’s games, see below, although I feel compelled to write that the below are not necessarily my tips but merely my thoughts to prevent endless questions about my thoughts on certain games!
Austrian Liga 1:
WAC/St.Andra vs St.Polten (6)
Bulgarian A PFG:
Botev Vratsa vs Litex Lovech (8) 0-2
Slavia Sofia vs Chernomorets Burgas (5) 2-1
Beroe vs Lokomotiv Plovdiv (6) 1-0
Levski Sofia vs Ludogorets (5) 1-1
Czech Republic Gambrinus Liga:
Banik Ostrava vs Viktoria Plzen (5) 1-2
Danish Superligaen:
AGF Aarhus vs SonderjyskE (7) 1-0
English Premier League:
Blackburn Rovers vs Manchester United (6) 1-2
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Maccabi Haifa vs MS Ashdod (5) 1-1
Ironi Kiryat Shmona vs Hapoel Tel-Aviv (6) 1-1
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Aalesund FK vs Tromso (6) 0-0
Polish Ekstraklasa:
Zaglebie Lubin vs Jagiellonia Bialystok (5) 0-0
Romanian Liga:
Concordia Chiajna vs Ceahlaul Piatra Neamt (4) 1-1
Universitatea Cluj vs Targu Mures (6) 1-0
Vaslui vs CFR Cluj (6) 1-0
Spanish Primera Liga:
Sevilla CF vs Real Mallorca (6) 1-0
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Malmo FF vs Gefle (7) 1-0
Orebro vs Atvidaberg (4) 1-1
IFK Norrkoping vs Helsingborg (6) 1-2
Swiss Challenge League:
Winterthur vs Vaduz (6)
Enjoy your free betting tips!