Blackburn vs Portsmouth Preview

Last updated : 08 May 2009 By Jim Bonner
Pompey travel to Ewood Park tomorrow knowing victory will guarantee a seventh season in the Premier League.

However, winning at Blackburn is not an easy task as Rovers have only been beaten once at home (by Aston Villa) since Sam Allardyce took over from Paul Ince.

Big Sam has warned Pompey that his team will not be content with a satisfactory draw and will go all out for the win. Not that we should be too worried about his warning, given the fact that the last time he "warned" Pompey about life in the Premier League for the first time we spanked his Bolton side 4-0!

The good news from Pompey's point of view is that both Roque Santa Cruz and Jason Roberts are still missing for Rovers which means Chris Samba will play as a makeshift striker so Campbell and Distin will have to be strong deal with a lot of high balls.

Pompey will also face another sworn enemy in El-Hadji Diouf who gave away the penalty that Defoe scored at Sunderland's Stadium of Light back in November, the last time we won away from home in the league.

Paul Hart's main problem is at right back as detailed in the previous article. I expect Martin Cranie to step up in the likely event that Johnson and Kaboul don't make it tomorrow.

The rest of the team should be the same as the side that were schooled by Arsenal last week, although David Nugent is pushing for a recall to the midfield now he is fully fit.

Both of these clubs are a shining example of what happens when the board appoints the wrong man after the successful manager leaves for a club with more money.

Rovers finished 7th last season whilst Pompey finished just a point behind them in 8th with a shiny FA Cup to their name. It's only because of the hard work of both Allardyce and Hart that it looks likely that the two same teams, currently residing in 14th and 15th place, will be playing in the Premier League next season.

But one team can rubber stamp their Premier League status with a win tomorrow, leaving the other with a nervous end to what has been disappointing campaigns for both clubs.

Predicted Starting Line-Ups