Blackburn V Brighton at Ewood Park : Match Preview

21 December 2012 11:31
Blackburn V Brighton - view commentary, squad, and statistics of the game live.


Rovers wait on captain's comeback

Blackburn captain Danny Murphy could be ready to return when Brighton visit Ewood Park.

Murphy has not featured for Rovers since suffering a hamstring strain in the 1-1 derby draw with Burnley at the start of this month.

"Danny Murphy trained (on Thursday) so we'll see how he is, but he ended the training session fine so he could be on his way back," said boss Henning Berg.

Fellow midfield veteran David Dunn is also pushing for greater involvement having been restricted in recent weeks as he looks to make a full recovery from a calf problem.

Berg added: "David Dunn is coming on, he's been in light training and this is maybe the first proper week that he has had training.

"With his record in terms of injuries you have to be a little bit careful with him but it's good to have him back training with everybody full-time and, of course, he is a player who can do a little bit extra when he gets the chance."

Markus Olsson is available once more after being struck down by illness ahead of last weekend's 2-0 defeat to Blackpool, where Jake Kean was a surprise inclusion in place of Paul Robinson in goal.

Berg will be unable to call on wingers Mauro Formica (foot) and Fabio Nunes (hamstring) as he looks to end a dismal run of one point from the last five matches.

Brighton have problems in defence ahead of the trip.

Full-backs Bruno (Achilles), Inigo Calderon (knee) and Marcos Painter (calf) are all expected to miss out at Ewood Park, so centre-half Adam El-Abd looks set to deputise at right-back.

Gary Dicker (knee) and Andrea Orlandi (rib) are also likely to sit out again.

Fellow midfielder Liam Bridcutt was withdrawn during the second half of the 2-2 draw with Millwall on Tuesday night but manager Gus Poyet confirmed that was only as a precaution.

Winger Kazenga LuaLua has scored two goals in three substitute appearances and is pushing to make his first start since October.

Will Hoskins could also return to the starting line-up after dropping to the bench in midweek.

Source: PA