Sports Blog 08/04/2015: FA Cup Quarter Final Replay Preview – Blackburn vs Liverpool, Wednesday 8th April 2015

Liverpool can expect a tough game tonight as they battle Blackburn for the final place in the FA Cup semi-finals at 7.45pm on BT Sport 1.

With Arsenal facing Reading on April 18th, and Aston Villa facing the winner of tonight’s replay on the 19th, the FA Cup is slowly reaching its crescendo. However, there is still more to do for Liverpool and Blackburn before they can start thinking of Wembley and after a goalless draw at Anfield, each side will need to up their game if they want to stand a chance of edging closer to lifting the cup.



Blackburn have hardly set the Championship on fire this season. They are currently sitting in 10th, 14 points off of a play-off place and without a hope of breaking into the incredibly tight battle for promotion. However, in their FA Cup run so far they have already dispatched of Swansea and Stoke following a third round victory over Charlton, and managed to hold off Liverpool when they visited Anfield a month ago. Despite only keeping 5 clean sheets in 20 home Championship matches this season, Blackburn have found the back of the net 9 times in the past 4 games, a total that dwarfs Liverpool’s 3 goals in the same time period.

Liverpool, for their part, are in a similarly lacklustre position as Blackburn. Their post-Christmas rejuvenation has abandoned them in the past few games, with back to back losses to Manchester United and Arsenal leaving them in 5th, 7 points adrift of Manchester City in 4th place. That most recent defeat is telling; the 4-1 loss at the Emirates is a far cry from the 5-1 humiliation the Reds themselves dished out last season, and captures the issues both at the back and the front in this current Liverpool side.



With even a Champions League position in doubt, the FA Cup remains the lone bright spot in Liverpool’s season, and even this hasn’t been as smooth a road as it should have. Out of the four teams they have faced, they were forced into replays by Bolton and Blackburn, whilst victories over AFC Wimbledon and Crystal Palace were hardly convincing: all of these sides, bar maybe the Pardew-helmed Palace, should have been a breeze for Liverpool, yet they were anything but.

Things will be made tougher for Liverpool with Steven Gerrard, Martin Skrtel and Emre Can all absent through suspension, with Balotelli a worry after missing the weekend defeat to Arsenal. Blackburn, on the other hand, will be missing Jason Lowe, Shane Duffy and Christ Taylor through injury, with a question mark over Grant Hanley. In terms of their options up front, Blackburn take the edge: Jordan Rhodes is on 17 goals whilst Rudy Gestede is on 16 goals, both at 13/2 to score first, with Ben Marshall coming up the rear with 6 goals at 16/1. In comparison, for Liverpool Daniel Sturridge is at 7/2 to score first with only 5 goals, Balotelli at 4/1 with 4 goals, and the Reds’ joint top scorer Raheem Sterling at 9/2 with 10 goals.

Unsurprisingly given the difference in league, Liverpool have the advantage at a Liverpool/Blackburn (h) Goal Supremacy spread betting quote of 0.85-1.05, with a Total Goals spread of 2.6-2.8. And with our Spreadex clients firmly behind Liverpool, the Reds hold onto their advantage if the game goes into added time, at a Liverpool/Blackburn (h) Extra Time Goal Supremacy quote of 0.05-0.15.