Southampton vs Blackburn Prediction: Saints to draw again?

Southampton host Blackburn Rovers in a mouth-watering Championship clash this weekend, with kick-off at 15:00 on Saturday afternoon. Saints currently sit in fourth and are on an unbeaten run that stretches 13 matches, but they are also 12 points behind second-placed Ipswich Town. Below we have previewed this game and given a couple of betting picks. 

Team News

Russell Martin will hope to welcome Flynn Downes back into his midfield after he missed the last two matches through illness. There was hope that he would return against Coventry on Wednesday but he failed to make the squad. 

Meanwhile, Blackburn are without several key players, including Aynsley Pears, Joe Rankin-Costello, Dominic Hyam, Ryan Hedges, Sam Gallagher and Tyrhys Dolan.

Match Odds

Southampton are the favourites for this one, priced at 4/6 to take all three points. Blackburn are 18/5 for victory, and a draw is available at 3/1. BTTS is 4/7, while over 2.5 goals is priced at 8/15.

Southampton vs Blackburn Rovers - BTTS and Draw @ 18/5

Southampton’s run of matches without defeat has been hugely impressive, and under Martin they strangle games by dominating possession. They haven’t lost since the 23rd September when they were beaten at Middlesbrough and since then have been almost faultless.

But despite the unbeaten run, frustration has grown amongst Saints fans due to the amount of draws they have picked up. Their last two matches have finished 1-1, while they also had the same scoreline away at Huddersfield and at home to Rotherham. They simply cannot finish teams off and against a decent Blackburn outfit, this is likely to be another close encounter. Another 1-1 (priced at 7/1), could be on the cards, but we are going for BTTS and draw as our first pick. 

Adam Armstrong to score anytime @ 5/4

The forward has been in exceptional form this term, scoring 12 goals in 21 matches to date. If Saints score, it is usually Armstrong, and chances are always created for him in this system. He is an excellent finisher, however there is no doubt that he could have scored far more goals this term. 

Against the Sky Blues in midweek, he missed two huge opportunities to win the game. This isn’t enough to put us off however, and we are backing Armstrong to find the net on home soil and continue his impressive goalscoring campaign. 

Check out our other Football Betting Tips here.