***Official City v Blackburn Thread***
Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 11:44 amThought I'd start it off as I'm off to the match soon. Here's a preview from BBC:
TEAM NEWS
Manchester City's Carlos Tevez will have a late fitness test after picking up a knock for Argentina in midweek.
Forward Mario Balotelli has been ruled out for up to six weeks and Jerome Boateng is not ready to make his debut, but Micah Richards is fit again.
Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce could give a debut to former Manchester City striker Benjani Mwaruwari.
Martin Olsson is a slight doubt with a shoulder injury he suffered while on Sweden Under-21 duty.
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Manchester City
Injured: Balotelli & Boateng (both knee), Bridge (toe), Kolarov & Tchuimeni-Nimely (both ankle)
Blackburn
Doubtful: Olsson (shoulder) Injured: Andrews (groin)
MATCH PREVIEW
Why settle for Three Lions, when you can have six? Half a dozen Manchester City players proved to be big-game performers for England against the Swiss in midweek, but they cannot expect to roll over a Blackburn side that relish causing an upset.
Most teams who win the title have an English core, so it can only be good for us as a club.
Under Sam Allardyce, Blackburn took points off Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool last season, and made the Gunners work hard for victory a fortnight ago.
City believe their cluster of England internationals stands them in good stead to challenge for the league title, but they are looking to rebound from a defeat at Sunderland. Darren Bent's stoppage-time penalty was the first goal conceded in this campaign by goalkeeper Joe Hart, who then featured with club team-mates Joleon Lescott, James Milner, Gareth Barry and substitutes Adam Johnson and Shaun Wright-Phillips in Tuesday's Euro 2012 qualifier in Basle.
Whereas City spent £125m on players over the summer, Blackburn's only transfer expenditure was a nominal fee for a youth player. Allardyce believes it is now doubtful Rovers will be bankrolled by businessman Ahsan Ali Syed, whose proposed takeover is yet to be completed.
Nonetheless, Allardyce insists his side are a year ahead of where he expected them to be when he took over in December 2008. Whether City counterpart Roberto Mancini will be able to say the same after a similar length of time in charge remains to be seen.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
Manchester City
• Manchester City are unbeaten in their last five league matches against Blackburn, winning the last three.
• Blackburn have not won in their last three visits to the City of Manchester Stadium, losing the last two. Their only victory in the last 10 was 3-0 in January 2007.
• City are looking to avoid suffering back-to-back defeats under manager Roberto Mancini for the first time. It is 16 months since they last lost successive Premier League matches.
• They have failed to score in five of their last eight league matches.
• Carlos Tevez has scored nine goals in eight matches against Blackburn in all competitions, including four in Manchester United's 5-3 League Cup quarter-final win in December 2008 and a hat-trick in Manchester City's 4-1 home league victory in January.
• Emmanuel Adebayor has scored nine goals in seven league matches against Blackburn goalkeeper Paul Robinson, including a hat-trick for Arsenal in September 2008.
Blackburn
• Blackburn go in search of their 1,000th win in top-flight football.
• If Rovers lose, it will be the first time they have suffered three successive league defeats under Sam Allardyce.
• They are the only Premier League team to lose after taking the lead this season - suffering a 2-1 defeat at Birmingham on 21 August.
• Morten Gamst Pedersen has scored three goals in the club's last four league visits to Manchester City.
LEADING GOALSCORERS
Manchester City
Tevez: 2 (2 league)
Blackburn
Mame Diouf: 4 goals (1 league)
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Mark Clattenburg
Assistant referees: Jake Collin & Scott Ledger
Fourth official: Andre Marriner
LAST LEAGUE MATCH LINE-UPS
Manchester City (L0-1 v Sunderland, a): Hart; Richards, K Toure, Kompany, Lescott (Adebayor 75), A Johnson (Silva 81), De Jong, Y Toure, Barry, Milner, Tevez (Jo 90). Subs not used: Given, Zabaleta, Wright-Phillips, Vieira.
Blackburn (L1-2 v Arsenal, h): Robinson; Salgado, Nelsen, Samba, Givet, El-Hadji Diouf, Jones, Pedersen, Grella (Dunn 56), Mame Diouf (Nzonzi 81), Kalinic (Olsson 65). Subs not used: Bunn, Emerton, Hoilett, Chimbonda.
TEAM NEWS
Manchester City's Carlos Tevez will have a late fitness test after picking up a knock for Argentina in midweek.
Forward Mario Balotelli has been ruled out for up to six weeks and Jerome Boateng is not ready to make his debut, but Micah Richards is fit again.
Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce could give a debut to former Manchester City striker Benjani Mwaruwari.
Martin Olsson is a slight doubt with a shoulder injury he suffered while on Sweden Under-21 duty.
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Manchester City
Injured: Balotelli & Boateng (both knee), Bridge (toe), Kolarov & Tchuimeni-Nimely (both ankle)
Blackburn
Doubtful: Olsson (shoulder) Injured: Andrews (groin)
MATCH PREVIEW
Why settle for Three Lions, when you can have six? Half a dozen Manchester City players proved to be big-game performers for England against the Swiss in midweek, but they cannot expect to roll over a Blackburn side that relish causing an upset.
Most teams who win the title have an English core, so it can only be good for us as a club.
Under Sam Allardyce, Blackburn took points off Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool last season, and made the Gunners work hard for victory a fortnight ago.
City believe their cluster of England internationals stands them in good stead to challenge for the league title, but they are looking to rebound from a defeat at Sunderland. Darren Bent's stoppage-time penalty was the first goal conceded in this campaign by goalkeeper Joe Hart, who then featured with club team-mates Joleon Lescott, James Milner, Gareth Barry and substitutes Adam Johnson and Shaun Wright-Phillips in Tuesday's Euro 2012 qualifier in Basle.
Whereas City spent £125m on players over the summer, Blackburn's only transfer expenditure was a nominal fee for a youth player. Allardyce believes it is now doubtful Rovers will be bankrolled by businessman Ahsan Ali Syed, whose proposed takeover is yet to be completed.
Nonetheless, Allardyce insists his side are a year ahead of where he expected them to be when he took over in December 2008. Whether City counterpart Roberto Mancini will be able to say the same after a similar length of time in charge remains to be seen.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
Manchester City
• Manchester City are unbeaten in their last five league matches against Blackburn, winning the last three.
• Blackburn have not won in their last three visits to the City of Manchester Stadium, losing the last two. Their only victory in the last 10 was 3-0 in January 2007.
• City are looking to avoid suffering back-to-back defeats under manager Roberto Mancini for the first time. It is 16 months since they last lost successive Premier League matches.
• They have failed to score in five of their last eight league matches.
• Carlos Tevez has scored nine goals in eight matches against Blackburn in all competitions, including four in Manchester United's 5-3 League Cup quarter-final win in December 2008 and a hat-trick in Manchester City's 4-1 home league victory in January.
• Emmanuel Adebayor has scored nine goals in seven league matches against Blackburn goalkeeper Paul Robinson, including a hat-trick for Arsenal in September 2008.
Blackburn
• Blackburn go in search of their 1,000th win in top-flight football.
• If Rovers lose, it will be the first time they have suffered three successive league defeats under Sam Allardyce.
• They are the only Premier League team to lose after taking the lead this season - suffering a 2-1 defeat at Birmingham on 21 August.
• Morten Gamst Pedersen has scored three goals in the club's last four league visits to Manchester City.
LEADING GOALSCORERS
Manchester City
Tevez: 2 (2 league)
Blackburn
Mame Diouf: 4 goals (1 league)
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Mark Clattenburg
Assistant referees: Jake Collin & Scott Ledger
Fourth official: Andre Marriner
LAST LEAGUE MATCH LINE-UPS
Manchester City (L0-1 v Sunderland, a): Hart; Richards, K Toure, Kompany, Lescott (Adebayor 75), A Johnson (Silva 81), De Jong, Y Toure, Barry, Milner, Tevez (Jo 90). Subs not used: Given, Zabaleta, Wright-Phillips, Vieira.
Blackburn (L1-2 v Arsenal, h): Robinson; Salgado, Nelsen, Samba, Givet, El-Hadji Diouf, Jones, Pedersen, Grella (Dunn 56), Mame Diouf (Nzonzi 81), Kalinic (Olsson 65). Subs not used: Bunn, Emerton, Hoilett, Chimbonda.