Aston Villa are still in the danger zone and they need a win in order to ease their relegation worries, whereas Blackburn are safe at the moment, although Rovers could soon be in problem themselves. Looking at the team sheets, Villa definitely look like favourites here.

There games without a win

Aston Villa needed quite some time to overcome the problems they encountered at the start of the season, but the Villans’ uptrend in fortunes coincided with the arrival of Darren Bent from Sunderland, as well as the return of key players from injuries. Gerard Houllier’s side started the new year in great style and they are still going strong. Villa played really well even in the defeat to Manchester United and draws against Fulham and Blackpool, so they are clearly in much better form than their next opponents. Villa are slowly rediscovering their home form, having beaten Manchester City and Blackburn before missing a chance to beat Fulham at Villa Park. After easily beating Rovers in the FA Cup few weeks back, Aston Villa look more than capable of getting all three points from this match.

Jean II Makoun starts his three-match ban, while Carlos Cuellar misses out through injury. Luke Young could be in contention following the lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Rovers slipping down

Blackburn have been going pretty strong this season, especially at their Ewood Park and they had no problems coping with the departure of Sam Allardyce midway through the season. New boss Steve Kean continued to play to team’s strengths and he managed to keep Rovers at a safe distance from the relegation zone. However, Blackburn seem to have suffered a dip in form in the worst possible time, having lost three out of last four games, and another defeat could see them slip into the danger zone. Rovers are simply awful on the travels, where they lost seven out of last eight games, which doesn’t give them reason for optimism before the trip to Birmingham. Having conceded no less than 12 goals in last 4 away games, Rovers are likely to face a very difficult task at Villa Park.

Roque Santa Cruz and Gael Givet returns to contention, but Junior Hoillet, Mauro Formica and Ruben Rochina are unavailable. Chris Samba is doubtful with a virus, whereas Ryan Nelsen should play despite the earthquake hitting his home town in New Zealand.

Verdict

Aston Villa have been in very good form over the last few weeks and they are expected to continue the good home run and record a very important victory. Blackburn are struggling at the moment, while they are also utterly disappointing on the travels, so I can’t see how they are going to survive this trip.

Our prediction: Home win

Odds: 1.80 (4/5)

Bookmaker: William Hill