Can Blackburn pull off an upset?
This weekend brings with it the fifth round of the FA Cup with Premier League teams being outnumbered 9-6 by lower league teams.
We have seen a number of upsets already in this year’s competition, most notably Oldham’s remarkable victory over Liverpool, and will this weekend spring more surprises?
Oldham host Everton and will want to prove that lightning strikes twice and another possible upset is in the Arsenalvs Blackburn game.
Now, I know that seems totally ridiculous considering the mess that Blacburn have got themselves into in recent times; The Steve Kean saga, the Henning Berg Joke and the mediocre play which led to them being mid-table in the Championship.
Despite all this they have started playing a lot better recently and finally got a full time manager in with Michael Appleton. Their league position has improved, too, and they are only six points of the playoff spots.
Blackburn’s squad still has a lot of Premier League and international experience; Paul Robinson, David Dunn, Leon Best and Dickson Etuhu to name but a few.
Arsenal have one eye on their Champions League tie with Bayern Munich and Arsene Wenger has admitted that he will be resting some of his key players, such as Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla.
So Blackburn may be able to pull off an unthinkable upset but it will be difficult at the Emirates, somewhere they have always struggled, and the last game between these two teams ended in a 7-1 victory for Arsenal. Ominous omens for Rovers but remember that this is the FA Cup and, as Oldham proved, anything can happen.
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