PREMIER LEAGUE: WHITE HART LANE, SATURDAY MARCH 13, 2010. KICK-OFF: 1245 GMTTOTTENHAM HOTSPUR:
Tottenham are currently occupying fourth place and know they will stay there with a victory in the first game of the weekend. It would add to the pressure already upon Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez, whose side began the season not only expected to qualify for the Champions League, but also tipped by some to win a trophy.
Benitez's misfortune is being enjoyed by his footballing nemesis, Sam Allardyce, but the Blackburn manager won't mind doing his enemy a favour by getting the better of Spurs.
And Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp made it clear he wasn't expecting anything other than the usual bruising encounter with Rovers - which is fine as far as he is concerned.
"Sam won't take his foot off the pedal for sure and at the moment they are playing well," Redknapp said. "Everyone has their own style of playing and, however he does it, Sam Allardyce has been one of the most successful managers, with what he's done with what he's had, in the last 10 years.
"He nearly got the England job a few years ago - he was in the final interviews, so I wouldn't criticise anything Sam does."
Redknapp also added that he did not see Liverpool as Tottenham's main rival for fourth spot. "Manchester City are favourites," he said.
""They have a game in hand and I still think Liverpool will be right there. It's going to be tight. You could just as easily finish fourth as seventh - it's that tight. There is nothing in it really."
Strategy: Injuries have robbed Redknapp of two centre-halves and an entire midfield. That means he has no option but to continue to play people slightly out of position. Left-back Gareth Bale has been moved up to the left wing, Luka Modric into central midfield and Niko Kranjcar on to the right flank.
It has worked so far but the whole system is just one booking away from being put under severe strain as Wilson Palacios is a yellow card away from a two-match ban. Redknapp also has just two fit centre-halves but should have four international strikers to choose from as well. "We are okay," Redknapp insisted. "Luka did ever so well for us at Fulham last week."
Injury Update: Jonathan Woodgate has undergone a potentially career-saving operation on a groin problem that has limited him to just three appearances this term. Fellow centre-back Ledley King is still missing and midfield quartet Aaron Lennon, David Bentley, Tom Huddlestone and Jermaine Jenas are all out injured.
BLACKBURN ROVERS:
It says much about Blackburn's season that the most exciting thing to happen at Ewood Park recently has been Allardyce's escalating feud with Benitez.
Tucked away in mid-table, boasting a 10 point safety cushion with 10 games remaining, Rovers are one of the very few teams who have little to play for in the last two months.
There are eight teams locked in a desperate battle to avoid relegation and a further nine at the other end of the table who are chasing title or European ambitions.
Allardyce's Blackburn are somewhere in the middle - too many points in the bag to worry about going down but too few to tempt their fans with the prospect of qualifying for Europe.
Yet Allardyce insists there are 1.5 million reasons why he will be keeping his players on their toes between now and the end of the season.
The Blackburn manager is targeting a top 10 finish in the table. That would represent a significant improvement on last season when Rovers flirted with relegation before coming 15th over the finishing line.
The Lancashire club start at White Hart Lane in 12th spot. And with around £750,000 in prize money at stake for each place in the table, Allardyce has admitted Blackburn's final position will influence how much money he will have to spend on players in the summer.
"The chairman tells me the higher we finish in the table, the more money I will get in the summer," said Allardyce. "It would be nice to finish in the top 10 and it's still a realistic target.
"But we're going to have to play very well because eight of our last 10 games are against teams who above us."
Strategy: Blackburn have not lost a Premier League home and away double against Tottenham since 1997 but they must produce one of their best performances of the season if they are to extend that record. Allardyce's side have won only once on their travels this season and after two goals by Peter Crouch destroyed Blackburn at Ewood Park in December, Tottenham are favourites to strengthen their top four credentials.
Despite an improved performance at Liverpool in their last outing, Blackburn lack a cutting edge away from Ewood Park. Allardyce is desperate to mastermind at least one away triumph after missing the 2-0 win at Bolton in November to undergo heart surgery. "We've only won once away from home and I didn't even see that," said Allardyce.
Injury Update: Rovers are without three first team players for the trip to London, defender Lars Jacobsen (hernia), captain Ryan Nelsen (knee) and midfielder Vince Grella (calf). David Dunn could return to the midfield while Yildiray Basturk, who has yet to make his league debut since signing from Stuttgart on loan, could be involved.
