Blackburn v Cardiff: Rhodes can give Rovers edge

Henning Berg has endured a far from stellar start to his career in the Blackburn dugout with just one win from seven games at the helm. After dropping points against two local rivals in Bolton and Burnley, three points at home to table-topping Cardiff are a necessity as far as Rovers’ wavering promotion aspirations are concerned.

The Bluebirds’ impeccable home form has been slightly undercut by toils on their travels. They have picked up one win in their last five away days to supplement a measly total of just three all season. This hasn’t stopped them being installed as 13/8 favourites to win at Ewood Park though, while the hosts can be backed at 8/5 and the draw a 23/10 shot.

Having only picked up three wins since Steve Kean’s inevitably acrimonious departure in September, it’s incredible that Blackburn remain just four points outside the play-off picture.

Summer signing Jordan Rhodes has been largely responsible for this having bagged six goals in Berg’s seven games at the helm. Were it not for the £8m man’s exploits in the box, Rovers’ would be four points worse off over this period and 11 in total for the season.

Without his goals, Blackburn would currently occupy 20th place in the Championship table, three points outside of the drop zone.
The Scottish international is sure to play a crucial role in any positive result Rovers manage here and he’s understandably 4/1 favourite to open the scoring and is an odds-on 5/6 to notch at any time.

Peter Whittingham hasn’t lived up to his lofty standards in the goalscoring stakes this time around but his set piece ability is always a threat. The former Aston Villa youngster has bagged a solid seven so far and his price of 9/1 to net first is something to consider, while 3/1 to score at any point is great value.

All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date