Blackburn vs Arsenal Betting tips

Blackburn held Arsenal to a draw in their FA Cup fifth round clash at the Emirates and Mark Hughes' men have another crack at turning the Gunners over and reaching the quarter final when the two sides fight out a replay at Ewood Park on Wednesday evening. The last time Arsene Wenger's charges visited the Lancashire venue they beat Rovers with consummate ease, despite playing with 10 men for the lion's share of the game, which culminated in a sublime Thierry Henry goal. However, the skipper is out of this match with a foot injury. And it's not just Henry that the north Londoners will have to make do without. Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor are both suspended, while Tomas Rosicky and Abou Diaby are on the easy list. Furthermore, it looks as though Justin Hoyte, Theo Walcott and Gael Clichy will all struggle to make the squad owing to niggling injuries. Conversely, Hughes has few selection headaches with defender Chris Samba being the only doubtful, as the Frenchman is currently nursing a knee injury. Hughes has demonstrated his admiration for Arsenal's fighting spirit, but the Welshman will no doubt endeavour to use this aspect of Arsenal's game to his advantage. Indeed, in the infamous shape of Robbie Savage, Blackburn possess a player more than capable of starting a fight in an empty room. If the likes of Savage go out with the intention of spicing this tie up, as he has a propensity to do so, then this could descend into a tempestuous encounter. Blackburn do not boast a particularly good record against Arsenal, and have failed to know the Londoners out of this tournament since 1966. They've met half-a-dozen times in total in the FA Cup, with Arsenal winning four to the Rovers' two. But with Arsenal's squad being threadbare and given that they go into this match on the back of two defeats, including in their high-octane clash with Chelsea in the Carling Cup Final on Sunday, much depends on whether they can bounce back so quickly from a psychological standpoint. The home side managed by a coach who has a genuine penchant for this competition - Hughes is the only player in the 20th century to have won FA Cup winners' medals - and he will have his players fully wound up for this match, in which they have nothing to lose given that Arsenal are widely perceived as hot favourites to come out on top. Arsenal are a far, far superior side, don't get me wrong, but there are so many negatives hanging over them ahead of this game. They may bounce back and win cosily regardless, but at a best-priced 5/4 I am more than happy to oppose them with Blackburn. The home side rate pretty good value at 5/2 with VCbet in the match result market given the mitigating circumstances surrounding their rivals. In essence, I reckon it'll be Blackburn v Man City in the quarter-finals. Verdict - 2pts Blackburn in the match result market @ 5/2 (VCbet)