Blackburn of the Championship host Premier League Newcastle in the FA Cup fifth round on Tuesday and the visitors have a lot hinging on the outcome.
Blackburn
The draw was kind to Blackburn in the earlier rounds and they made short work of home ties against lower league opposition in the shape of Cambridge (5-2) and Wrexham (4-1). Sammie Szmodics scored a total of 5 goals in those 2 matches .
John Eustace recently took over as coach and Blackburn have drawn their last 3 league games, most recently 1-1 at home to Norwich. They remain below half way in the standings with 39 points from 34 matches and look highly unlikely to be involved in the play off picture but they are only 4 points better off than third bottom Stoke so they could yet be sucked into a relegation battle.
Newcastle
Newcastle came up against local rivals Sunderland in the third round and they turned what looked a potentially awkward away tie into a one sided contest and ran out 3-0 winners with Isak grabbing a brace. They also travelled in Round 4, this time to Fulham and they came away with a 2-0 win with Sean Longstaff and Dan Burn on target.
At the tail end of 2023 Newcastle were knocked out of the UCL and the EFL Cup and this competition represents the last remaining chance for silverware.
Newcastle were thumped 4-1 away to Arsenal in the EPL at the weekend and they are ninth in the standings, 10 points behind fifth placed Spurs. Goals in been flying in from all directions with a total of 42 from their last 8 league games. Prior to the Arsenal defeat they had improved on what was a dismal away record with a 3-1 win at Villa and 3-2 victory at Forest.
The Betting
At the time of writing Blackburn are trading at 41/10 to win the game with the draw priced at 3.85/1 and Newcastle can be backed at around 11/20
A game of 3 goals or more is priced at 4/10 and it's 5/10 for both teams to score
The Verdict
It's fair to say that this is Newcastle's season right here and their defence has looked vulnerable in recent weeks. However the visitors were far too good for Sunderland who are just above Blackburn in the Championship standings and Rovers will have to pull out a special performance if they are to cause a surprise.
I'll give a tentative to vote to Newcastle to win the game but with Blackburn contributing to the scoring.
Bets: 3 Way & Both Teams to Score , Away win and yes at 1.63/1 with BoyleSports
Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
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