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2 months ago
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22 min “I have little sympathy for the big clubs when it comes to the number of games they’re playing, writes Andy Flintoff. “There’s a good reason why they’ve stockpiled all the international talent into a 25-man squad (plus all those that are out on loan because they’ve been stockpiling all the young talent across the world too).”
I agree. The quickest way to redress the balance would be to reduce the number of subs – but of course Arne slot and ilk are arguing for more, in order to keep fringe players happy.
20 min We don’t get a good shot across the line, but that was very close; I wonder if the linesman was circumspect because of the Harry Maguire goals that wasn’t disallowed on Friday night. And I also wonder if, since VAR, officials are generally more likely to be cautious when making decisions, in the knowledge that, should they make a howler, chances are they’ll be saved.
19 min Buckley curls to the far post and Hyam does really well to head across goal and in, but the flag’s up and there’s no VAR.
18 min Kargbo bustles by Bellegarde then forces himself away from Bueno, who eventually succeeds in hacking him down. He’s booked and Blackburn have a free-kick out on the left.
16 min Cunha skirts around the outside of Buckley, who brings him down and is booked. That’s a silly one because there was no imminent danger; perhaps that was a challenge administered on reputation, the Brazilian’s ball-carrying now feared around the country.
14 min Wolves work the ball to the edge of the box and Hwang leathers a low shot … that Batth blocks superbly. Both sides are looking to attack here, and though we’ve not seen much quality yet, the intensity is increasing.
12 min Cantwell wins a free-kick out on the right, pumped into the box to little avail, Rodrigo Gomes eventually blocking off Cozier-Duberry, who looks lively. Blackburn are into this now, Dennis looking sharp he’s given not played in a long; Rankin-Costello crosses low and misses everyone.
10 min And here comes Blackburn, Kargbo – making his full debut for the club – picking up a switch and feeding Ribeiro, outside him. Then, when the cut-back arrives, he shifts it to open a shooting lane before thwacking over the bar.
9 min Joao Gomes struts into midfield, exchanging passes with Cunha … only to be quickly crowded out. Wolves are dominating possession but they’ve not created anything yt.
8 min Dennis flicks wide to Cozier-Duberry, who dips inside and wafts a shot miles from anywhere.
6 min I should note, by the way, that if scores are level at full time, we’ll play extra time. Unless, of course, Uefa have cancelled it.
5 min And Cunha goes for goal, catching his shot nicely but hitting it straight at Toth.
5 min Nice turn from Cunha so Cozier-Duberry hauls him down. Free-kick Wolves, 35 yards out, the Brazilian behind it.
3 min Forshaw tries a long pass in behind for Kargbo, which skids through to Johnstone but probably evidences how Blackburn intend to play today: they’ll want to get the ball forward quickly and use the pace of their wingers to worry Wolves.
2 min The pitch, by the way, doesn’t look too bad.
2 min Toth dithers on the ball and Hwang presses him; he just about swishes to Hyam and Blackburn clear.
1 min I know this is tautologous, but is Blackburn’s kit the most unique in football? As far as I know one else plays in blue and white halves.
1 min Away we go!
Here come the teams!
Our teams are tunnelled. Will this be Eustace’s last game as manager? It does’t feel right that he’d want to leave given Blackburn are sixth in the table; that he’d consider it tells us plenty about the club’s ambition or lack thereof.
Eustace tells BBC he wants to get game-time into the legs of his new signings, and his bench is strong with players he hopes can come on and make an impact after an hour.
Pereira, meanwhile, notes a tough opponent and tough pitch. His team need to run, fight, win duels and second balls – “this is football in England”.
Where is the game? Blackburn will, I think, look to get at Wolves down the sides, in behind the wing-backs. They’ll also hope their midfield three will outnumber Wolves’ two, though Cunha and Hwang are both able to drop in.
The visitors, meanwhile, will look to feed Cunha whenever possible – his ball-carrying ability could be crucial – with Guedes attacking the space in behind.
Email! “Rovers and Wanderers do not inspire much confidence in a specific direction or focus, do they?” notes Krishnamoorthy V.
How dare you, it’s British whimsy at its best. Tangentially, I always loved how James Alexander Gordon pronounced the latter, almost adding an extra “er”.
I’m looking forward to seeing how Amario Oswald Gerardo Cozier-Duberry get on today. The 19-year-old winger was highly regarded when at Arsenal and might just provide the unpredictability Blackburn have been missing.
It’s also worth noting that Blackburn give debuts to recent arrivals Yuri Ribeiro and Emmanuel Dennis. The latter, on loan from Nottingham Forest, could prove to be a really smart acquisition.
On the Wolves bench today are Marshall Munetsi and Nasser Djiga, Zimbabwean and Burkinabé respectively, both signed in the recent transfer window. Let’s see if they get on to the pitch.
Wolves, meanwhile, make five alterations. Out go Sa, Doherty, Andre, Ait-Nouri and Sarabia; in come Johnstone, Bueno, Gomes R, Gomes J and Hwang.
As expected, Blackburn make changes – eight of them – from the midweek defeat at QPR. Out go Pears, Brittain, Beck, Travis, Dolan, Weimann, Hedges and Gueye; in come Toth, Rankin-Costello, Ribeiro, Forshaw, Cozier-Duberry, Cantwell, Kangbo and Dennis, which is to say Batth and Hyam, the centre-backs, and Buckley, a defensive midfielder, are those who keep their paces. All those omitted are on the bench.
I’ll write these down, then we’ll have a wonder about what they mean.
Teams!
Blackburn Rovers (4-2-3-1): Toth; Rankin-Costello, Hyam, Batth, Ribeiro; Forshaw, Buckley; Cozier-Duberry, Cantwell, Kargbo; Dennis. Subs: Pears, Brittain, Beck, Travis, Hodges, Weimann, Dolan, Woodrow, Gueye.
Wolverhampton Wanderers (3-4-2-1-): Johnstone; Bueno, Agbadou, Toti; Semedo, Gomes J, Bellegarde, Gomes R; Cunha, Hwang; Guedes. Subs: Bentley, Doherty, Ait-Nouri, Munetsi, Andre, Doyle, Sarabia, Forbs, Djiga.
Get into the mood:
However trouble is brewing for Blackburn: Derby County, 22nd in the Champo, have made a formal approach to take Eustace as their new manager. Which seems a strange thing, but Eustace played for Derby and would, you imagine, be given more money – for himself and to spend on the team. You never know what’ll happen but the way this is being reported, it feels inevitable.
Preamble
1883–84, 1884–85, 1885–86, 1889–90, 1890–91, 1927–28; 1892–93, 1907–08, 1948–49, 1959–60. It’s been a while and it’s fair to say the world has changed somewhat in the interim, but these clubs, who met in the 1960 final, have won this competition 10 times between them and, though both have other priorities this season – Blackburn to go up, Wolves to stay up – both sets of fans understand its importance to their identity.
The question, though, is how the managers see it. The Championship’s unrelenting cycle of Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday means John Eustace will surely be tempted to rotate – currently, his side occupy the last of the playoff positions with the eight clubs below all within five points. Moreover, Blackburn’s tally of 35 league goals is fewer than all save the last, meaning their attackers – Makhtar Gueye and Andreas Weimann – might be deemed too valuable to risk.
Wolves, meanwhile, arrive at this game having recorded a crucial victory over Aston Villa last weekend, and there’s a decent chance Vitor Pereira will want to sustain the good vibes. He went with a strong XI for the round-three tie at Bristol City and, given a trip to Anfield comes next, probably won’t want his best players to be without a game in two weeks.
And, either way, this should be a decent tussle, a good, honest old-fashioned FA Cup tie suffused with the unmistakeable stench of Woodbines, rickets and cliche. Let’s have it.
Kick-off: 12.30pm GMT
