Back Rovers for a healthy Return

11Jan 2013

England - The Championship

Blackburn can continue their recent revival under caretaker managers at struggling Wolves, says Andy Tongue...

Wolves v Blackburn

Friday 11th January 19:45 GMT

LIVE on Sky Sports One

Two sides that were in the Premier League last season and have not enjoyed the easiest of times as they aim to bounce back at the first attempt meet at Molineux. Both have parted company with their managers in the past few weeks but whereas Blackburn now appear to be going in the right direction, Wanderers are in something of a crisis after three consecutive defeats in the league and an embarrassing exit from the FA Cup at the hands of non-league Luton.

Wolves

Former Derby, Liverpool and Aston Villa striker Dean Saunders has been named the new boss following the sacking of Stale Solbakken. Saunders did an admirable job at Doncaster but will find expectations a lot higher in Black Country. His first task is to halt the run of losses which has left Wanderers 18th in the Championship with just three wins from their last 16 league games. They have managed just one goal in those three defeats - from Sylvain Ebanks-Blake who is the only Wolves player to have found the back of the opposition's net since December 1st.

Blackburn

Just three weeks ago, Rovers found themselves in a very similar position to their hosts but the decision to end Henning Berg's ill-fated short tenure at Ewood Park and replace him with the caretaker duo of Gary Bowyer and Terry McPhillips has paid dividends. The pair have overseen the first back-to-back league victories since October to lift them back to within five points of a play-off place with their gamble in dropping senior players such as David Dunn, Morten Gamst Pedersen and Dickson Etuhu working thus far. Jordan Rhodes is now up to 13 goals for the season while Spanish striker Ruben Rochina has five in nine starts.

Match Odds

Wolves home record is nothing to write home about (only four wins so far) and they have drawn just four of their 26 games this season, which suggests the character to grind out results when not playing well is lacking so we'll ignore the Draw No Bet option. With confidence high, Rovers will fancy their chances of making it four wins on the spin for their caretaker managers and the juicy price of 3.0 for an away victory is more than enough to tempt us in.

Half Time/Full Time

The home side can reasonably be expected to come out strongly in an attempt to impress Saunders, though, so Rovers may need to bide their time. Backing draw/Blackburn in the half-time/full-time market at 7.8 could turn out to be a smart play.

Recommended Bets:

Back Blackburn to beat Wolves @ 3.0

Back Drat HT/Wolves FT @ 7.8