Blackburn earned an admirable draw away at Anfield last month but they will have to raise their game once again if they are to book a place in the FA Cup semi-final. Aston Villa await the victors of this tie and with the Villains distracted by their ongoing fight against relegation, there is a very real chance that the winner of this match will reach the final.
Whilst the first tie ended 0-0 it was certainly not a dull game with Blackburn soaking up lots of pressure before looking to hit the Reds on the break, with Rovers striker Rudy Gestede being a real thorn in the side of Liverpool’s defence. In Gestede and Jordan Rhodes, Gary Bowyer has potentially the best strike force outside of the Premier League and both strikers will once again relish the chance to test themselves against top quality opposition.
For Liverpool, they could have potentially done without the extra game as their top four challenge begins to falter but the FA Cup may well represent their only chance to salvage anything from their season. The final also falls on Steven Gerrard’s birthday and that will be some extra motivation, if they even needed it, to put in a good performance.
Rovers have good pedigree in the FA Cup having lifted the famous trophy on six occasions and Gary Bowyer’s side are going along nicely in the Championship. Stoke City have already fallen victim to Blackburn at Ewood Park and this will certainly not be a walk in the park for Liverpool.
Blackburn Rovers v Liverpool Betting Tips
- Liverpool to win – Liverpool have already edged past one Lancastrian side after a replay when they beat Bolton Wanderers in the fourth round and we’d back the Reds to get a win on Wednesday night. Naturally Liverpool are favourites for this tie and the best price on win for Brendan Rodgers’ side can be found with Ladbrokes at 8/13.
- Liverpool to win 2-1 – Liverpool’s three FA Cup wins this season have all been by 2-1 scorelines and you can back that run to continue at 8/1 with BetVictor. With the game at Ewood Park, we can’t see the Reds running away with the tie and we’d back Blackburn to score against a defence which has been left somewhat in the lurch with the suspension of Martin Skrtel.
- Draw at half time/ Liverpool to win – With a chance to run out at Wembley on the cards Gary Bowyer’s side won’t roll over and we can see their resistance holding out until half time before Liverpool kick on in the second half. At 10/3 with Ladbrokes, you can back the game to be level at half time and Liverpool to win by full time.
- Liverpool to win and both teams to score – We certainly think that both teams will hit the back of the net and that Liverpool will win so if you don’t fancy the 8/1 on Liverpool to win 2-1 you can back a Reds win with both sides scoring at odds of 27/10 with BetVictor.