They have 4 "key" players out for tomorrow night: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21573525 This probably doesn't mean a lot as the other players will be looking to take their chances. It's good for us that Kazim-Richards is out as he is the type of player who would definitely score against us.
Their squad is very impressive - their form sporadic - this is a game we need to be up for and win convincingly ...
I think the nature of their injuries is such that at least three of them stand no chance of playing this week. It shouldn't make too much difference though as none of those who played against us last week looked very good at all - their keeper is excellent but, other than that, they looked a pretty lethargic bunch.
.. all about confidence and momentum .. a good performance with a two goal (or more) winning margin sets us up for the next game and firmly back on track .. scrape through with an unconvincing one goal win (if it is unconvincing) and the self-doubt and fragility is still there ... and I would worry then about our response should we go a goal behind in the next game ..
I agree, we seem to lose a couple, stop the rot with 1 or 2 draws, and then go on a run. Hopefully that is happening again but there's no guarantee
David Nugent is a doubt for tommorow by the way. If he doesnt make it I think Anthony Knockaert will come in for him with Kane and Wood up front
What did the formation look like on Saturday? Was it a 4-3-3 or did Nugent play out wide in a kind of 4-5-1 shape? When I saw teamsheet I thought it may have been a diamond with Kane in the hole.
Fair one. 4-3-3 and 4-5-1 can sometimes be the same thing depending on how you look at it and the players on the pitch anyway. We owe Blackburn one after they robbed us earlier in the season, so hopefully with a mixture of missing players and us being better we can do them.
You should never look past the next game. Partly because its the next chance to get 3 points but mainly because the others will have been re arranged by then
I don't think Blackburn will trouble you too much, they were **** against us and they've subsequently lost a couple of their better players. I'm hoping this post puts a hoodoo on you.
As Proud said, our last run started with a scrappy, hard-fought win at Burnley. Sometimes players under pressure lack confidence and simply believe they're not going to win. I think there was a bit of this from Wood on Sat with the peno and sitter misses. Once that win comes, the pressure is lifted and self confidence returns. So the sooner we win one, the sooner the pressure eases. The scoreline and performance are irrelevant. We can go back to playing well and smashing teams when confidence is high again.
