Played
April 2, 2012 3:00 PM EDT
Ewood Park — Blackburn
Referee: H. Webb
Attendance: 26532
April 2, 2012 3:00 PM EDT
Ewood Park — Blackburn
Referee: H. Webb
Attendance: 26532
Premier League Preview: Blackburn Rovers - Manchester United
Sir Alex Ferguson's team can go five points clear at the summit following Manchester City's draw with Sunderland, but defeat will consign the home side to the bottom three
By Oliver Platt
Getty Images
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PROBABLE LINEUPS |
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BLACKBURN ROVERS
 Robinson Lowe, Hanley, Dann, Martin Olsson Formica, N'Zonzi, Pedersen, Marcus Olsson Hoilett Yakubu |
MANCHESTER UNITED
 De Gea Rafael, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra Valencia, Carrick, Giggs, Young Rooney Welbeck |
Both Steve Kean and Sir Alex Ferguson could opt to stick with the starting lineups they named last weekend.
David Dunn will be in contention for a place in the Blackburn team, potentially as a replacement for Mauro Formica.
Junior Hoilett and Yakubu are likely to hold on to their status as Kean's current preferred strike partnership.
Javier Hernandez will challenge Danny Welbeck for his place in the Manchester United attack and Paul Scholes could feature in midfield ahead of Ryan Giggs.
The game will come too soon for Nani, who has returned to training after an ankle injury, but Rio Ferdinand, who was substituted against Fulham, is fit to play.
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DID YOU KNOW? |
Blackburn Rovers' probable starting lineup cost the club approximately 17.5 million pounds in transfer fees. Manchester United's, in comparison, cost around 130 million pounds.
- The most expensive of those 11 Rovers players was Scott Dann, who cost 6 million pounds from Birmingham City.
- The two sides will be meeting for the 112th time on Monday night. Manchester United has won 50 of those matches, with Blackburn having emerged victorious 32 times.
- Blackburn has lost just two of the last nine encounters between the two clubs at Ewood Park.
- In their last meeting, on December 31, Rovers stunned United by winning 3-2 at Old Trafford. Four days later the Red Devils crashed again, at Newcastle - but they haven't lost again in the Premier League since then.
- The two clubs clashed for the first time in September 1892, with Blackburn edging a 4-3 win. In the first seven fixtures between the two teams, 35 goals were scored.
- Manchester United has the opportunity to go five points clear at the top of the Premier League table with a win after Sunderland held title rival Manchester City to a 3-3 draw in Manchester on Saturday.
- If United was able to maintain that gap until its meeting with City on April 30, it would require a victory to win the league at the Etihad Stadium.
- Antonio Valencia (pictured above right) trails only David Silva in the Premier League assist charts, despite having played 10 fewer matches than the Spaniard. Valencia has racked up 11 assists in 19 games.
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Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
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Blackburn 0-3 Manchester United
- 22.49 %
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Blackburn 0-2 Manchester United
- 14.3 %
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Blackburn 1-3 Manchester United
- 13.97 %
| English Premier League (EPL) (EPL) | Apr 2, 2012 | Blackburn 0 - Manchester United 2 |
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| English Premier League (EPL) (EPL) | Dec 31, 2011 | Manchester United 2 - Blackburn 3 |
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| English Premier League (EPL) (EPL) | May 14, 2011 | Blackburn 1 - Manchester United 1 |
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| English Premier League (EPL) (EPL) | Nov 27, 2010 | Manchester United 7 - Blackburn 1 |
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| English Premier League (EPL) (EPL) | Apr 11, 2010 | Blackburn 0 - Manchester United 0 |
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Blackburn
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| May 4, 2013 | Birmingham 1 - Blackburn 1 | ENG2 |
| Apr 27, 2013 | Blackburn 1 - Crystal Palace 1 | ENG2 |
| Apr 23, 2013 | Millwall 1 - Blackburn 2 | ENG2 |
| Apr 20, 2013 | Watford 4 - Blackburn 0 | ENG2 |
| Apr 16, 2013 | Blackburn 1 - Huddersfield Town 0 | ENG2 |
Manchester United
 |
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| May 19, 2013 | West Bromwich 5 - Manchester United 5 | EPL |
| May 12, 2013 | Manchester United 2 - Swansea City 1 | EPL |
| May 5, 2013 | Manchester United 0 - Chelsea 1 | EPL |
| Apr 28, 2013 | Arsenal 1 - Manchester United 1 | EPL |
| Apr 22, 2013 | Manchester United 3 - Aston Villa 0 | EPL |
| 1 | Paul Robinson | Goalkeeper |
| 3 | Martin Olsson | Defender |
| 16 | Scott Dann | Defender |
| 2 | Bradley Orr | Defender |
| 31 | Grant Hanley | Defender |
| 12 | Morten-Gamst Pedersen | Midfielder |
| 15 | Steven N'Zonzi | Midfielder |
| - | Marcus Olsson | Midfielder |
| 35 | Jason Lowe | Defender |
| 23 | Junior Hoilett | Striker |
| - | Aiyegbeni Yakubu | Striker |
| 28 | Mark Bunn | Goalkeeper |
| 39 | Adam Henley | Defender |
| 8 | David Dunn | Midfielder |
| 10 | Mauro Formica | Striker |
| 11 | Radosav Petrović | Midfielder |
| - | Anthony Modeste | Striker |
| - | Rubén Rochina | Striker |
| 1 | David de Gea | Goalkeeper |
| 3 | Patrice Evra | Defender |
| 4 | Phil Jones | Defender |
| 5 | Rio Ferdinand | Defender |
| 6 | Jonny Evans | Defender |
| 2 | Rafael | Defender |
| 16 | Michael Carrick | Midfielder |
| 22 | Paul Scholes | Midfielder |
| 7 | Antonio Valencia | Midfielder |
| 10 | Wayne Rooney | Striker |
| 14 | Chicharito | Striker |
| 40 | Ben Amos | Goalkeeper |
| 12 | Chris Smalling | Defender |
| 11 | Ryan Giggs | Midfielder |
| 7 | Ji-Sung Park | Midfielder |
| 18 | Ashley Young | Midfielder |
| 6 | Paul Pogba | Midfielder |
| 19 | Danny Welbeck | Striker |
Results
Times In EDT
Live
Final
scheduled
Suspended
Cancelled
Postponed
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Robin van Persie Striker Man United |
26 | 3 |
|
Luis Suárez Striker Liverpool |
23 | 0 |
|
Gareth Bale Midfielder Tottenham |
21 | 0 |
|
C. Benteke Striker Aston Villa |
19 | 3 |
|
Michu Midfielder Swansea City |
19 | 0 |
