Follow every kick as Blackburn Rovers take on Fulham at Ewood Park in the Premier League
on 17-Jan-2010, kick off time 15:00
Blackburn Rovers v Fulham Live
Sam Allardyce has demanded an instant improvement from his Blackburn Rovers side after they slumped to a 4-1 defeat at Manchester City on Monday night. Rovers are on a run of nine league games without a win but the manner of the performance at Eastlands - which was littered with defensive mistakes - left the Ewood Park chief in critical mood. "Except for the last goal, all of the goals were avoidable," he fumed. "We've got to look at ourselves and say that we haven't done our job defensively." Blackburn returned to action in the Carling Cup with a semi-final first leg meeting with Aston Villa on Thursday night but the bread and butter of the league is where Allardyce's focus is. The Lancashire club have slipped down to 13th place in the table on the back of their recent form and are only three points clear of the drop zone. Allardyce has not been helped by the absence of any frontline attacking options as Jason Roberts is struggling with a knee problem and Benni McCarthy continues to be plagued by a back problem. El Hadji Diouf remains suspended following his red card in the FA Cup defeat to Aston Villa two weeks ago. Visitors Fulham continue to delight and frustrate manager Roy Hodgson in equal measure. After beating Manchester United handsomely on December 19, the Cottagers have failed to win any of their three following games. A draw with Tottenham and defeats to Chelsea and Stoke City must have left Hodgson scratching his head, as will ninth-placed Fulham's comparatively poor record on the road this season. They have not won any of their last nine league away matches and have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of them either. The Whites have also conceded a total of five goals in their last two league games, after conceding only two in the previous six. Leading scorer Bobby Zamora (shoulder) will again be absent alongside key defenders Brede Hangeland and John Paintsil (both knee). Clint Dempsey will lead the line in Zamora's absence and will be looking for a repeat of the brace he bagged in a 3-0 win over Blackburn back in November.
Source: DSG
