Blackburn v Man City Betting Preview

Blackburn host Manchester City in the Premier League this Monday evening with the home side looking for points in the battle to avoid relegation and the visitors looking to secure a top four finish.

Blackburn are hopeful of having Junior Hoilett available after he missed the defeat to Everton, Keith Andrews could make his first appearance since February but Roque Santa Cruz cannot play against his parent club.

City have no fresh injury concerns but remain without Carlos Tevez and Micah Richards due to injury and Kolo Toure due to his suspension.

Roberto Mancini’s side are looking to establish a four-point gap between themselves and Tottenham in the battle for an all-important top-four finish. However, City have yet to record an away win in the Premier League in 2011 and go into this game having picked up just seven points from their last six league fixtures.

Having secured an FA Cup final berth by defeating neighbours Manchester United the Citizens will be in buoyant mood but fully aware of the need to refocus on the job at hand.

“The game after an important win can be just as important. The passion and concentration against United was 100 per cent, but when you go to a lower-placed team it's sometimes different,” said defender Pablo Zabaleta.

Blackburn are also desperate for points as they hover just one point above the relegation zone going into tonight’s game. Manager Steve Kean is under pressure from expectant owners Venky’s and knows how important tonight’s game is.

“We've five cup finals to come and it is about concentration, it is about rolling up our sleeves,” said the Blackburn boss.

The bookmakers have made City the strong favourites to pick up the three points on offer here and price the visitors at 10/11 for victory. Blackburn are quoted at general odds of 3/1 for the win that would pull them away from the relegation zone while the draw is priced at 12/5.

Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko will likely start upfront in the absence of City’s Argentinian captain. Balotelli is the 4/1 betting favourite to open the scoring with Dzeko a marginally bigger 11/2 to break the deadlock.

Both managers are under extreme pressure from their respective employers and defeat for either would push them closer to the exit door. Conversely, however, a win for either would go a long way to securing their employment status for next season.