Sunderland v Blackburn Rovers betting

Martin O’Neill will begin his reign of the club he supported as a boy on Sunday. Sunderland have struggled this season but face opponents who have also failed to impress their fans. Can Sunderland get off to the perfect start under O’Neill’s management, or will Blackburn be able to build on their victory against Swansea last weekend?

Sunderland – Form: DLDLL

Last week’s loss at Wolves saw Sunderland go a fifth game without victory. Only one of their last seven games has seen more than three goals. The best odds you can get for there to be under 3.5 goals in this game are 2/5 from Boylesports.

Sebastian Larsson is the club’s top scorer. The Swede takes the majority of set pieces for Sunderland and the best odds you can get for him to score anytime are 7/2 from William Hill.

Sunderland could make a very quick start as their players will be vying to impress their new manager. For Sunderland to open the scoring in the first half, you can get odds 6/5 from Ladbrokes.

Blackburn Rovers – Form: DLDLW

Blackburn finally managed to get their second victory of the season when they defeated Swansea last weekend. Yakubu scored all four goals in the fixture, taking his tally to nine goals in eight appearances already for Rovers. The best odds for Yakubu to be first goalscorer are 8/1 from bet365.

Blackburn have conceded three goals in each of their last three away Premier League matches. The best odds of this to continue and for Sunderland to score three goals are 5/1 from William Hill.

Paul Robinson has not kept a clean sheet all season for Blackburn Rovers. For him, and Blackburn to keep their first clean sheet, you can pick up odds of 4/1 from bet365.

Match Prediction: Sunderland to win 2-1 (8/1 Ladbrokes)

Sunderland are playing poorly but now have Martin O’Neill at the helm. The players will want to impress the new manager and will have the home crowd supporting them along the way. Blackburn have been poor away from home, without a win all season. Their morale-boosting  victory against Swansea is likely to spur a good performance, but they face a tough task in this relegation six-pointer.

Article by Nick Whittaker

*Click here for all the latest odds on upcoming football matches