Blackburn v Newcastle Betting Tips: Another tight clash at Ewood?
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Odds and preview of FA Cup third round replay
A cracking FA Cup tie between Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers ended 1-1 on Tyneside 10 days ago, and the pair face off in an intriguing replay tonight.
The Magpies head into this game on the back off a narrow 2-1 loss at Chelsea, while hit-and-miss Rovers saw off Millwall with a clinical 2-0 victory.
Ahead of tonight’s third round replay – live on BT Sport 2 from 7:45pm – we’ve got all the key odds and info for you…
Head-to-Head
Blackburn have had the better of this fixture in recent times, being unbeaten in the last three clashes. The Lancashire club won both meetings in the 2016-17 Championship campaign – despite being relegated, whilst Newcastle won the title.
However, the hosts’ record against Premier League opposition doesn’t read well for fans of Tony Mowbray’s men.
Victory over Stoke City in 2014-15 was their last FA Cup win over top-flight opposition. They’ve been knocked out by three Premier League sides since.
Likely XIs
Blackburn are a 4-2-3-1 side under boss Tony Mowbray. Despite talk of a move away from the Pennines, star man Bradley Dack is likely to start in the advanced midfield trio, alongside Craig Conway and former Magpie Adam Armstrong.
Further back, Rovers can call on experience at centre-back. Ireland international Darragh Lenihan and Scotland regular Charlie Mulgrew are the beating heart of their backline.
Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez may have bigger fish to fry in the Prem, but he’s a manager who takes the FA Cup very seriously – having lifted it with Liverpool in 2016.
He’s likely to field a strong XI, probably going with the recently favoured 5-4-1. Kenedy could return on the left of midfield, with Ayoze Perez on the opposite flank and Salomon Rondon the target man as usual.
Key Battles
Rovers’ defensive strength tends to be in the centre, and they could be susceptible at full-back – with Amari’i Bell arguably a weak link. With the pace and trickery of Kenedy and Perez, Newcastle could have a fair bit of joy by cutting inside.
Dack is the one to watch for the Magpies. Despite the fact they’re likely to field a five-man defence, his range of passing and long-range finishing could still cause the hosts plenty of problems. He scored in the first leg, and may well net again here.
Match Odds
Rovers are favourites to qualify at odds of 8/11, with the Magpies Evens to make it through. Meanwhile, another draw after 90 minutes is a 21/10 shot.
However, the hosts have won just two of their 12 prior FA Cup clashes with the Tyneside titans.
Rondon tops the Anytime Goalscorer market at 6/4, while we go 9/5 that Dack nets against Newcastle for the second time in a fortnight.
A repeat of Both Teams to Score is 10/11, with Over 2.5 Goals a shade longer at 5/4.
Click here for the latest Blackburn v Newcastle odds.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
