Blackburn v Man Utd

Sire Alex Ferguson's side have the chance to open up a five-point lead over Manchester City in the title race when they visit Ewood Park and Adam Bate is expecting goals.Manchester City’s failure to beat Sunderland on Saturday has opened the door for Manchester United to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League to five points when they visit Blackburn at Ewood Park on Monday evening.The champions are in good form and are strong favourites to capitalise on the opportunity to ensure the destination of the title remains out of City’s hands. United are available to claim three points here at 2/5 (1.4) with William Hill and strengthen their grip on top spot.If Blackburn need belief they can cause an upset then Steve Kean’s men need only to look to the reverse fixture in December when they stunned United to win 3-2 at Old Trafford.Rovers are on a decent run of form but weekend wins for three of their rivals at the foot of the table mean they are still in the thick of a relegation battle.Blackburn are 7/1 (8.0) to bag a vital win here and manufacture another shock win while the draw is available at 7/2 (4.5) with William Hill.In the goalscorer markets, Wayne Rooney is the favourite to open the scoring and continue an impressive run of eight goals in seven games since February. He can be backed at 11/4 (3.75).Yakubu is 8/1 (9.0) to score first – he netted the first two goals when these teams met back on New Year’s Eve.In the other markets, the best bet is to back both teams to score in this one at 4/5 (1.8). Only Newcastle have stopped Sir Alex Ferguson’s men from scoring this season, while Blackburn have hit the net in 25 of their 30 Premier League matches. Although United will be confident of victory, Blackburn's goal scoring abilities can't be underestimated and this bet offers a solid return.That’s the bet of the day in this game. For the value bet, back Blackburn to build on their run of three wins from six matches and stay in this game until the interval before United’s class starts to tell. Draw/Manchester United is available in the HT/FT market at 18/5 (4.6) with William Hill.