Blackburn vs West Ham

This bet was a great spot by Tom Allen as Blackburn never looked like being the victors on Saturday. Only a late goal by Keith Andrew spared them a point. Our lay of the home team was never in danger though, with West Ham the better side throughout.

Some stinking games in the Premier League this weekend but one standout bet and I’m surprised Blackburn are as short as even money to get the better of West Ham on Saturday.

Sam Allardyce did well, initially, when taking over from Paul Ince following the latter’s dismissal as Blackburn boss but the stats show he has managed to guide his new team to victory on just four occasions in twelve matches in charge and Rovers are still very much in a relegation battle. Thumped at Arsenal last weekend, they are still looking over their shoulder and The Hammers will be no pushovers despite some injury concerns.

Very few teams have little left to play for this season in the top flight, if any, but while there is a slight worry that the lure of Uefa Cup football won’t be quite enough for Gianfranco Zola’s side to maintain their form until the end of the season I’m willing to take a chance on them on Saturday. West Ham were poor against West Brom on Monday but it’s now three games without conceding and they have little to fear from a blunt Blackburn attack.

Only Middlesbrough have scored fewer goals on home soil in the Premier League than Blackburn and with Roque Santa Cruz once again set to miss out through injury they could struggle to penetrate a resolute West Ham backline. Robert Green is shielded excellently by the likes of Lucas Neill and James Collins and with Scott Parker back to somewhere near his best this season I expect the London club to return with at least a point from their trip to the north west.

West Ham are, in fact, seeking a remarkable seventh consecutive victory over Saturday’s opponents but I’ll be happy if they have to settle for a point and that may well have to be the case with Carlton Cole absent again. That said, the visitors have goal threats throughout and Blackburn are seeking just their fourth win at Ewood Park all season.

I simply fail to see where the goals will come from for Rovers and this must worry Sam as the season reaches its climax. Benni McCarthy’s form seems to have stalled again, after a decent scoring run, and with Jason Roberts still far from prolific Allardyce could be relying on set pieces to force a breakthrough. West Ham are competitive in the air however and I think they’ll have more than enough to cope.