Sunderland v Blackburn Tips

With all the frequent headlines outlining Blackburn’s problems this season, very little has been made of what they are doing well. Scoring goals. The inability to stop them flying in with even greater regularity at the other end explains their current plight, but let’s focus on the positive for once.

Steve Kean’s side have scored 21 Premier League goals this campaign, that’s the best total outside of the division’s top five. Rovers have found the net in all seven of their away fixtures, despite failing to win a single one of those encounters. A statistic like that makes it pretty easy to identify the primary weakness! It also puts me right off backing a victory for the visitors to the Stadium of Light at 7/2 (Boylesports). The lift given to Sunderland by the arrival of Martin O’Neill is further reason for doubt.

I was tempted to put all my faith in the ‘new-manager effect’ and recommend the Black Cats at 10/11 (PaddyPower). But O’Neill doesn’t have a magic wand, and these odds look a little stingy for a side with two home wins in their last 16 games in all competitions.

Instead, I’m going to stick with my original thrust and back Blackburn to score as per usual;  or more specifically, their man of the moment, Yakubu. I’m trying to imagine Wayne Rooney being 12/5 (StanJames) in the anytime goalscorer market a week after grabbing four against opponents of a similar calibre. Quite simply, it would never happen. But that’s the price offered for the former Everton ace following his heroics against Swansea.

Yet the well-travelled 29-year-old has now scored as many Premier League goals (9) this season in a struggling side as Rooney has notched for Man Utd.  Yakubu has seven in his last five league games, and 10 for the season in all competitions makes it more goals scored than matches started! With a record like that, he looks sensational value at 12/5 (StanJames) to find the net over the course of 90 minutes against Sunderland.