3 months ago
56
Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature
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
