Televised Match Previews / Dan Fitch / 05 January 2009 /

Blackburn Rovers have won the FA Cup six times. But Does Dan Fitch expect Blyth Spartans to put Big Sam's men to the sword on Monday night?

Monday night sees the final match of the FA Cup 3rd Round, just a fortnight after it all kicked off with the match between Spurs and Wigan.

OK, so I'm exaggerating a little here, but you've got to admit that this whole Friday to Monday thing is a bit much. In terms of being painfully stretched out, the FA Cup third round now rivals the skin on La Toya Jackson's face.

That rant aside, the final game of this round is a classic David v Goliath encounter, which should encapsulate all we love about the FA Cup. Conference North outfit Blyth Spartans play host to the Premier League's Blackburn Rovers and will be looking to put their name into the history books with a spot of giant killing.

Though they will be pleased to have drawn a Premier League side, if those at Blyth Spartans were truthful, they would admit to being a little disappointed when Blackburn were picked out of the hat. In terms of glamour and excitement, drawing Blackburn is a bit like opening a present at Christmas and finding you've been given some socks. You know you'll get some use out of them, but it's hard to get excited.

Blyth have shown some ambition by turning down the option of staging the game at Newcastle's St James Park in favour of hosting proceedings at their own Croft Park. Newcastle's record at St James Park against Premier League opposition probably had some bearing upon this decision, as did the fact that Blackburn were going into freefall at the time and were ripe for elimination.

Paul Ince has since been replaced as manager by Sam Allardyce, who seems to have at least temporarily put the breaks upon Blackburn's descent. The Allarydyce era began with a 3-0 win over Stoke and was followed by a 0-0 draw with Sunderland and a 2-2 draw with Manchester City.

Blackburn's fans can boast of a proud history in the FA Cup, well at least those who are over 100-years-old can. Blackburn have won the cup six times, but their last victory came in 1928 and their previous five wins came before the turn of the twentieth century.

Rovers can be backed at [50.0] to turn back time and win the FA Cup again. It's not likely though that a cup run will be high on Big Sam's list of priorities and he has indicated that he will field a weakened side against Blyth.

This is only the third time that Blyth have reached the third round of the cup and they go into the match in poor form. After beating Bournemouth in the second round, Blyth have lost their subsequent three Blue Square North matches and have failed to score a single goal.

The Spartans' goal king is Robbie Dale, who should be available at around [16.0] to be the first goalscorer, when the market forms on Betfair, nearer to kick-off. Blackburn are unlikely to field the likes of Santa Cruz or McCarthy, so a better bet would be Jason Roberts at around [5.5] or Matt Derbyshire at [6.0].

As is always the way when a non-league side play in the cup, we can expect the commentators to make plenty of jokey references to the day jobs of the Blyth players. Robbie Dale for example, works as a barman, but the giant striker is certainly not pint-sized. You get the idea.

Another Blyth player likely to be singled out is Graham Fenton (house husband), who played for Blackburn back in the 90s. Then a striker, Fenton now plays in central midfield and is also assistant manager to the Spartans' boss Harry Dunn (no day job, but the owner of a magnificent moustache).

Blyth are available at [15.0], with the draw at [7.2] and Blackburn the [1.24] favourites. Even an under strength Blackburn side should be able to deal with non-league opposition and they are available to be winning at half time/full time at [1.68]. If you fancy Blyth to hold out to half-time, the draw/Blackburn is available at [5.1].

Over 2.5 goals is a good value [1.74], with over 3.5 goals at [2.96]. In the correct score market, a 2-0 Blackburn win is [6.6], with 3-0 at [8.2] and Any Unquoted at [5.2]. If you fancy a Blyth win, then 1-0 is the most likely scoreline and is available at [34.0].

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