Premier League Preview: Blackburn Rovers - Portsmouth

Kick-Off: Saturday, November 7, 15:00.
Ewood Park, Blackburn.

Despite not being one of the glamour ties of the weekend, Blackburn Rovers against Portsmouth is a match that could present much drama – not to mention significance to the foot of the Premier League.

Both sides have been in the public eye for the wrong reasons of late. Blackburn have been locked in a swine flu crisis, not to mention player unrest, whilst Portsmouth’s boardroom blues took a further turn this week, with chief executive Peter Storrie being charged by the City of London Police for tax evasion.

Sam Allardyce has been publicly criticised this week by Benni McCarthy’s agent, with Rob Moore claiming that his client “has not been given a chance [by Allardyce]” and that “there’s no denying that Benni [McCarthy] is not the type of player that Sam Allardyce is looking for.”

Moore’s comments seem to have done nothing to deter the Blackburn boss, with Allardyce admitting that: “There is a price to be met if someone wants to buy Benni McCarthy.”

Meanwhile, the drama continues on the south coast.  Peter Storrie’s charge of tax evasion relates to the £1.5 million signing of Amdy Faye from Auxerre back in 2003, with Storrie being accused of concealing a signing on fee of £250,000 – paid via bank accounts of agent Willie McKay. 

A statement has since been released, claiming that, “At the time negotiations to acquire this player were concluded, Mr Storrie was on honeymoon. Mr Storrie will defend the allegations in the strongest possible terms and is entirely confident that he will be exonerated.”

One thing that is certain is the upturn of on-pitch fortunes at Fratton Park. After losing their opening seven matches, Portsmouth looked certainties to drop out of the promised land in catastrophic style, but the confidence that manager Paul Hart has shown in his players is beginning to pay dividends. 

Portsmouth have since collected seven points from their past four matches, and chief executive Storrie has lauded his manager’s strength.

“I’m delighted for Paul. He deserves it,” said Storrie.

“It’s been such a tough time for everyone but he has been an absolute brick right the way through it.

“He has ridden above that and we know he’s doing a great job, Paul has always had great support from the players.”

FORM GUIDE & THE BOTTOM FIVE

Blackburn Rovers

Manchester United 2-0 Blackburn
Blackburn 5-2 Peterborough (League Cup)
Chelsea 5-0 Blackburn
Blackburn 3-2 Burnley
Arsenal 6-2 Blackburn

Portsmouth

Portsmouth 4–0 Wigan
Portsmouth 4–0 Stoke (League Cup)
Hull City 0-0 Portsmouth
Portsmouth 1-2 Tottenham
Wolves 0-1 Portsmouth

Bottoms Up| Important match at the foot of the table.

TEAM NEWS

Blackburn Rovers

Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce goes into the weekend’s fixture with a fully-fit squad with no niggling injuries or fresh swine flu victims, although he is still reportedly tussling with the illness personally.

Blackburn will therefore probably line-up with the same team that faced Manchester United at Old Trafford last weekend, hoping to secure a better result.

Starting XI from last match (4-1-4-1):  Robinson, Chimbonda, Samba, Nelsen, Givet, Nzonzi, Emerton, Dunn, Andrews, Diouf, Di Santo.

Portsmouth

Paul Hart has injury concerns about five of his players, with doubts over defender Steve Finnan (groin strain) and striker Frederic Piquionne (concussion); Nadir Belhadj and Nwankwo Kanu are on standby. 

The Fratton Park side are also without long-term absentee Linvoy Primus (ankle/foot), whilst John Utaka (thigh strain) and Hermann Hreidarsson (foot/ankle) are also likely to miss out. 

Starting XI from last match (4-1-2-1-2): James, Finnan (doubtful), Kaboul, Wilson, Ben-Haim, Brown, Yebda, O’Hara, Boateng, Dindane, Piquionne (doubtful).

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Blackburn – Paul Robinson

Arguably the most unlucky player in the Premier League at the moment, Paul Robinson’s recent displays have not warranted the figures in the goal against column. Still shrouded from the fall-out of his international demise, the Blackburn goalkeeper has quietly been playing some of the best football of his career this season, and remains a good outside bet for making it to the World Cup.

Saturday’s match with Portsmouth presents a great opportunity for Robinson to prove to Fabio Capello that he is up to the task, as he faces David James in the opposite net. Both will play well on Saturday, but neither can count one hundred per cent on the same coming from the respective back lines in front of them. 

Portsmouth – Kevin-Prince Boateng

Since moving to Portsmouth, Kevin-Prince Boateng is beginning to show the promise and potential which led Spurs to pay almost £6 million to sign him from Hertha Berlin. The versatile midfielder, so often over-looked during his time at White Hart Lane, has demonstrated both impressive guile and technique since his transfer, and is starting to flourish as a fans' favourite down at Fratton Park.

Boateng is much like any other creative player; he may seem quiet and ineffectual for patches of a match – but underestimate him at your peril as one moment of magic, be it a defence-splitting pass or a net bulging strike will instantly bring the young German back into the opposition’s focus. 

PREDICTION

Due to the psychological importance of this match, the result is difficult to predict, with the only certainty being that there will be a lot of goal scoring opportunities. 

The match will be scrappy, but open – as both midfields regard flair as icing on the cake of grit and determination. There will be chances, and it will simply come down to who can convert them. With the current form of Aruna Dindane, topped with Allardyce’s reluctance to pick Benni McCarthy – arguably the most lethal finisher at the club – I think that Portsmouth could just edge this one by the odd goal.

Blackburn Rovers 1-2 Portsmouth

Richard Parry, Goal.com UK