This match sees two teams finally feeling a little freedom after being under pressure from fans and media alike for months.
Liverpool made progress in the Europa League in midweek and will hope that this form continues through into the weekend. Rafa Benitez seems a different character to that of a month or two ago. After solidifying his team and making them incredibly hard to beat in the last few weeks, the midweek match saw Liverpool score more than two goals for the first time in months. Now that the terrible run of form is behind them we can expect to start seeing a slightly more expansive style of play with more verve and attack. Injuries are few for a change, and the pressure should not be too great with bottom half of the table team Blackburn Rovers the visiting side.
Blackburn’s appointment of Sam Allardyce was never going to be popular with fans given his propensity for playing the long ball game and his desire to win ugly over playing attractive football. Match this with a sequence of poor results and the threat of a relegation battle and a supporters revolt was almost inevitable. Fortunately in recent weeks results have improved and Blackburn have edged away from the bottom of the table and now find themselves in 12th place, eleven points above the relegation zone. Again, injuries are few and far between for Blackburn, and they should be able to name a full strength team.
This is an interesting match up with both teams showing good recent form, but we have to side with the home side here, given their ability to field a wealth of international stars.
Verdict: Liverpool Home Win
Odds: 4/11
Bokmaker: William Hill
