The FA Cup Sponsored by EON
Ewood Park
Kick-off: 15:00
Referee: P Walton
Blackburn Rovers V Queens Park Rangers
By The Godfather

On Saturday afternoon, Queens Park Rangers will attempt to win their first FA Cup match in ten years, when they travel to face Premiership club, Blackburn Rovers, at Ewood Park. Of course, earlier in the campaign, Warnock fielded a much weakened side in the League Cup First Round against Port Vale and it remains to be seen whether he risks the Rs’ key players against Rovers. In my view, it’s unlikely given our position in the league table.

Blackburn Rovers

Manager: Steve Kean

Season 2009-10 finish: 10th position.

Blackburn Rovers are an established Premiership club, having played in the division since 2001, when Graeme Souness led them to promotion. Since then, they have often achieved mid-table finishes, with the Blue and Whites ending last season in 10th position under manager, Sam Allardyce. This was respectable given that previous boss, Paul Ince, had left Blackburn struggling at the bottom of the league mid-way through the season.

Although his football is not always attractive to watch, Allardyce is an effective manager who has an abundance of experience in the Premiership. It came as somewhat of a surprise, therefore, when Blackburn’s new owners, Venky’s London Limited, decided to dismiss him almost immediately. Caretaker Boss, Steve Kean, stepped in temporarily, but after an impressive victory over West Brom at the Hawthorns, the Board announced that it would give him a contract until the end of the season.

Blackburn come into this match on the back of a superb 3-1 win over Liverpool at Ewood Park. Like Neil Warnock, Kean may choose to make some changes to his starting line-up, although his options will be limited due to a number of injuries and suspensions.

Men to watch

Jason Roberts, a striker who has been repeatedly linked with a move to Loftus Road over the last six months, is likely to start up front for Rovers. The 32 year-old has a prolific goalscoring record both in the Championship and in the Premiership. During his four-year spell with West Brom, he netted 24 goals in 89 appearances. Following that, he helped establish Wigan as a top tier club, scoring 37 times in 93 starts. Although at times he has found it difficult to break into the first team at Ewood Park, he is still a highly rated forward, who has the potential to cause problems for QPR on Saturday afternoon.

Kean also has the talented El Hadji Diouf at his disposal, a Senegalese international who was named as one of the 125 greatest living footballers by Pele. Despite the fact that he has a reputation for diving, there is no doubt that he is a very skilful player, who can play on the right wing or up front if necessary. The 29 year-old lists Liverpool and Bolton among his former clubs.

Blackburn could name Morten Gamst Pedersen in their starting line-up, a Norwegian international who has played for Rovers since 2004, making over 200 appearances in the process. Pedersen is popular with the supporters, as he is a talented crosser of the ball and provides a real threat from set pieces. Hopefully he will be rested on Saturday afternoon, since he has the potential to give the likes of Orr and Hill a torrid time.

Previous Match

The two sides met in a FA Cup First Round fixture back in 2006, with Mark Hughes’ Blackburn side running out comfortable winners over Ian Holloway’s Queens Park Rangers team. Todd and Bellamy made it 2-0 in the first half thanks to some terrible defending, before the Welshman made it three late on. Queens Park Rangers never really turned up for this match and, quite frankly, did not seem to care about the result. Will there be a similar attitude on Saturday afternoon I wonder?

Blackburn Rovers 3-0 Queens Park Rangers

QPR Team News

Patrick Agyemang is out for three months after fracturing his right leg. Heidar Helguson, meanwhile, is unavailable due to a thigh injury, but will return in time for next week’s trip to Burnley. In an interview on QPR World, Lee Cook stated that he hopes to play some part in Saturday’s encounter and I think he is in with a chance. Peter Ramage and Akos Buzsaky, however, remain long-term absentees.

Prediction

Obviously a lot depends on the strength of the teams Warnock and Kean choose to field. I’m not really convinced that Warnock wants to have the distraction of a FA Cup run, but a fixture against a big club in the next round could generate substantial revenue. In addition, the fact that we haven’t won in this competition for so long is starting to get rather embarrassing and I’m sure the players will be keen to end this abysmal run of cup defeats. However, Blackburn have a number of excellent players who, if they are involved, are bound to cause problems for QPR’s under-confident back four. Therefore, I am going to predict a narrow win for the home side.

Blackburn Rovers 2-1 Queens Park Rangers