Blackburn Rovers v Bolton Wanderers,
The Barclays Premier League,
Wednesday 28 January, 2009,
Ewood Park, 8pm Kick-Off.
Gary Megson's men end an 11-day time-out when they travel to Ewood Park on Wednesday night, pressing for their first win in five Premier League outings.
Anything other than a defeat will keep the Whites above their old Lancashire rivals in the table, at a ground where Bolton have won on three of their last five visits.
However a tough proposition lies in wait with Blackburn unbeaten in their last six matches. Rovers full-back Stephen Warnock believes that the recent good run has been down to their new-found resilience in defence.
He said: "Paul Robinson has been almost redundant in recent weeks, which is a great sign for the defence. It's also a good sign for the lads up front, knowing that if we can keep the door shut, then hopefully they can score us the goals that will win us the games."
The match is set to mark a career milestone for Matthew Taylor, who will be making his 300th career league start.
The referee for the game is Mike Dean, the man who famously awarded two late penalties for Rovers against the Whites in the meeting between the two teams in 2006.
Wanderers fans will be backed by huge numbers with over 5,000 fans making the trip up the M61 and across the M65. Tickets will be available at Ewood Park in the hours leading up to kick-off, with entrance priced at £15 for adults and £5 for concessions.
In total, there have been 153 meetings between the two sides, with Bolton holding the bragging rights thanks to their 61 victories compared to Blackburn's 56. There have been 36 draws.
Team News
Kevin Nolan is back from his two-match suspension and is likely to resume his captaincy duties in the centre of midfield. New signing Mark Davies could feature after completing his move from Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier in the week.
Ariza Makukula is set to keep his place in attack in the absence of Johan Elmander, whilst fellow January signing Sebastien Puygrenier could be pressing for a starting place in defence.
Sam Allardyce has virtually a full strength side to select from for Blackburn. Jason Roberts and Matt Derbyshire are back in contention, as are David Dunn and Andre Ooijer.
Opposition Key Player - Benni McCarthy
McCarthy is a legend in South Africa after firing home his country's first ever World Cup finals goal during France 98, beating Peter Schmeichel to earn a 1-1 draw with Denmark. He rose to prominence as a teenager with South African side Seven Stars, scoring 27 goals in 29 games during the 1995/96 season. And after continuing to impress in his homeland, the pacy frontman earned a move to Ajax.
McCarthy helped the Amsterdam giants clinch league glory in his first term in Holland before moving to Celta Vigo in 1999. He failed to establish himself in Spain, and joined Porto two years later.
He was part of the Porto team which enjoyed Champions League success under Jose Mourinho in 2004 before he departed Portugal to sign for Blackburn on a four-year deal in July 2006 at a cut-price £2.5m
So far he has bagged 43 goals for the Ewood Park-based club including four in his last five matches.
Opposition Manager - Sam Allardyce
A familiar face in these quarters, Allardyce had just less than eight seasons in charge at the Reebok between 1999 and 2007.
Since leaving Bolton he was briefly in command of Newcastle United before he left his post at St James' Park in January 2008. After just under a year out of the game, Allardyce returned to management with Blackburn Rovers in December after the Ewood Park board had decided to axe his predecessor Paul Ince.
Allardyce's playing career started in 1973 with Bolton Wanderers and he went on to play for Sunderland, Millwall, Coventry, Huddersfield Town, Preston North End and Limerick before hanging up his boots.
The 54-year-old's break into management came with Limerick before he occupied positions at Blackpool and Notts County ahead of his appointment with Bolton Wanderers.
Betting
To get all the best odds for the game, visit our official betting partner Bet2Go.
Wanderers are best priced at 7/2 to take all three points with a draw available at 23/10. For the pessimists out there who think Blackburn will win the match, they can find odds of 10/11.
Kevin Nolan is priced at 18/1 to net the opening goal of the game, whilst Bolton are 16/1 to come away with a 2-1 win.
Click here for more information and hundreds more of superb odds.
Listen Live
If you can't make it to the Ewood Park on Wednesday night, you can listen to live uninterrupted commentary on Wanderers World with the club's new official commentator Phil Gittins and club journalist Rob Urbani. The broadcast starts at 7.30pm.
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