Martin O’Neill is on course to guide Villa to their third consecutive sixth place finish but there’s still a chance he could be given a high five by finishing fifth for the first time in 13 years. For that to happen he needs to hope that another team in claret and blue does him a big favour. West Ham United need to beat filthy rich Manchester City at Upton Park today and Villa must beat Blackburn in order to leapfrog the men from Eastlands in the table.
However, Sam Allardyce’s Blackburn Rovers will be seeking revenge following their 10-goal thriller at Villa Park in the League Cup semi-final in January. Rovers haven’t won at Villa Park for six years though and they have only managed maximum points on their travels just twice this season.
The worst case scenario for Villa is if they lose and Liverpool beat relegated Hull City. That would see the Villains slide down to seventh place and face playing another round in the Europa League next season.
Blackburn have the opportunity to finish as high as ninth so they will be fired up to end the campaign in the top half but you have to fancy Villa to get the job done.
Aston Villa v Blackburn Rovers; Kick Off 4pm 09 May 2010
Prediction Panel
Our panel contains both Squarefootball writers and readers, the writers are marked: (sqf).
Dave Blackburn : 2 - 1
Chris Cox : 1 - 1
Graham Enwright : 1 - 2
Sue Gardener : 2 - 1
Chris Goodwin : 1 - 1
Paul Grech (sqf) : TBC
Colin Illingworth (sqf) : 2 - 1
Hugh Larkin (sqf) : 1 - 0
Peter Lee : 2 - 0
Don McMahon : 2 - 1
Antony Melvin (sqf) : 2 - 0
Paul O'Meara (sqf) : TBC
Dave Nash : 1 - 0
Stephen Orford (sqf) : TBC
Tony Ratton : 2 - 1
Peter Rendle : 2 - 0
Dan Taylor : 3 - 0
Andy Wakeman : 2 - 0
Mark Williams : 2 - 0
Panel Verdict
The Panel is going for a home win.
Home: 13; Draw: 2; Away: 1; TBC: 3.
* Do we have it right, or do you know better? Please don't bother with derisory comments on the predictions after the match - unless you also pulled us up before it!
· Calling all Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers fans. We are looking to extend our prediction panel next season so every club in the Premier League is represented by a fan. Do you think you have the Midas touch when it comes to predicting the results? If so we’d love to hear from you.
