Mancini keen to pull clear of Spurs in battle for fourth
Rovers boss Kean is under pressure in relegation scrap
Blackburn: LLDDDL
Man City: LDWLWL
Injuries:
Blackburn: Nelsen, Grella
Man City: Tevez, Given, Richards, Boateng
Suspensions:
Blackburn: Nzonzi
Man City: None
Sky Bet odds: Blackburn 3/1, Draw 12/5, Man City 10/11
Opta stat: Despite Man City outshooting their opponents by 10 attempts on target to three, the reverse fixture ended 1-1 between Blackburn and City.
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It is a must-win game for both teams at Ewood Park on Monday night as struggling Blackburn host UEFA Champions League-chasing Manchester City.
While City will be keen to extend their lead to four points over fifth-placed Spurs, Blackburn are entrenched in a relegation battle and sit just a point clear of Blackpool and Wigan.
City have an FA Cup final against Stoke to look forward to next month, although manager Roberto Mancini has urged his troops to focus on their final six Premier League matches.
Rovers boss Steve Kean had attempted to move away from Sam Allardyce’s direct style of football, but he now concedes that results are now the be-all and end-all in order to avoid the drop.
City have struggled on their travels having failed to win a single away game since their Boxing Day success over Newcastle while Blackburn have picked up just 10 points in 2011.
Rovers news
Captain Ryan Nelsen and midfielder Vince Grella are injured for Rovers while Frenchman Steven Nzonzi serves the last match of a three-game suspension.
On-loan Paraguay international striker Roque Santa Cruz is unavailable against his parent club so he misses out, with Jason Roberts and Benjani in the running to start.
Junior Hoilett, the 20-year-old Canada-born striker, should be back after missing the 2-0 defeat at Everton with a hamstring problem.
City news
Mancini could be tempted to name an unchanged line-up against Kean’s struggling side in the wake of their famous FA Cup semi-final triumph.
Italy striker Mario Balotelli, who produced one of his best displays in a City shirt at Wembley, looks set to retain his place following the victory over Manchester United as captain Carlos Tevez (hamstring) is absent.
Nigel de Jong will provide the protection for City’s back four allowing the likes of Adam Johnson and Yaya Toure to get forward while David Silva and Edin Dzeko could support Balotelli.
With defender Micah Richards also missing with a hamstring problem, Pablo Zabaleta is set to retain his place in Mancini’s starting XI.
Probable starting XIs
Blackburn: Robinson, Salgado, Samba, P Jones, Olsson, Emerton, Dunn, J Jones, Pedersen, Hoilett, Roberts.
Man City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Kolarov, De Jong, A Johnson, Y Toure, Silva, Balotelli, Dzeko.
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Blackburn v Man City preview