Blackburn Rovers will be hoping to produce yet another upset on home turf when they take on Liverpool in an FA Cup quarter-final replay on Wednesday night, looking to book a place in the semi-finals.

The visitors have been dealt two huge blows in their hopes of finishing in the top four of the Premier League after gut-wrenching back-to-back defeats to Manchester United and Arsenal, which leave them seven points away from fourth with just seven games left of the season.

Brendan Rodgers admitted that his side will be focusing on the opportunity of getting to Wembley as the saviour of a disappointing league campaign, with the hope of sending Steven Gerrard off to Los Angeles in fairytale style. The final of the FA Cup, which would also be his last Liverpool game, falls on his 35th birthday next month.

But Gary Bowyer's side are not to be underestimated, having already put Swansea City and Stoke City to the sword at Ewood Park in impressive fashion in this competition. Not to mention the display they put on at Anfield in front of 6,000 visiting supporters as Rudy Gestede caused havoc upfront and their defence stayed stubborn in a goalless draw.

Blackburn are also expecting to play in front of a sell-out crowd, who will surely be vital if the Championship side are to secure a meeting against Aston Villa under the arch in under two weeks' time. But whilst the lure of Wembley Way will bring the best out of the Blackburn players, those in the red of Liverpool will be equally determined to ensure that the club's supporters have something to cheer about come the end of the 2014-15 season.  

Team News

Rovers are dealing with an injury crisis going into Wednesday's meeting, with Rudy Gestede the latest addition to their growing list of crocked players.

The 6ft 4" striker left the pitch during Blackburn's 3-0 win over Leeds United at the weekend with a tight hamstring and is unlikely to be fit in time to provide a physical presence up top.

Chris Brown, the man who replaced Gestede, was likewise forced off with a similar feeling of tightness in his hamstring in the same going - taking the injury toll to a huge 10 players.

Amongst Bowyer's other absentees - goalkeeper Simon Eastwood and midfielder Christ Taylor picked up knocks in training, whilst other first-team regulars Craig Conway, Grant Hanley, Josh King, David Dunn and long-term duo Shane Duffy and Jason Lowe. 

To make matter worse for the Blackburn boss, ex-Liverpool midfielder Jay Spearing is cup-tied having featured in the competition for Bolton Wanderers this season. Paul Taylor, David Raya - who made his debut in between this sticks versus Leeds is cup-tied - and John O'Sullivan are all ineligible to play in the competition and so Jason Steele is expected to start in goal.

Liverpool too have a few selection headaches. Emre Can's second yellow card at the Emirates Stadium in their 4-1 loss to Arsenal on Saturday afternoon means he misses the trip to east Lancashire.

In addition, Martin Skrtel and Steven Gerrard will both serve the second game of their three-match bans after seperate stamping incidents in the previous league game with Manchester United. 

Daniel Sturridge is expected to return to the starting line-up having started the loss to Arsenal on the bench. Full-back Jon Flanagan is nearing his comeback, having yet to play in a first-team game in the current campaign after an injury sustained during pre-season, but is unlikely to return against Rovers.

Jordon Ibe is another unlikely to feature having only recently returned to full training from a knee ligament injury, but Mario Balotelli may be available after missing the trip to Arsenal with a knee problem sustained in training. Jose Enrique took part in an U21s game on Tuesday night but will not have enough match fitness to play a role against the Championship side.

Head-to-head:

Total: Blackburn - 36 wins, Draws - 42, Liverpool - 58 wins.

At Ewood Park: Blackburn - 26 wins, Draws - 24, Liverpool - 18 wins.

At Anfield: Liverpool - 40 wins, Draws - 18, Blackburn - 10 wins.

Last meeting: Liverpool 0-0 Blackburn Rovers, 8 March 2015.

Last meeting at Ewood Park: Blackburn Rovers 2-3 Liverpool, 10 April 2012.

Last Five (all competitions):

Blackburn Rovers: WWLLW

Liverpool: WDWLL

Match Facts: 

Daniel Sturridge has scored 10 goals in his last 13 FA Cup starts.

Liverpool have kept only four clean sheets in their last 21 FA Cup games.

Blackburn have had five opposition players sent off in their last six FA Cup matches.

Liverpool have won 15 of their last 17 FA Cup quarter-final matches.

Blackburn forced a replay out of Liverpool in the FA Cup back in the 1990-91 season after a 1-1 draw at Ewood. The Reds won the return game 3-0 at home.

Rovers have won the FA Cup six times, but their last triumph came all the way back in 1928 when they overcame Huddersfield Town 3-1. 

The last time Liverpool won the competition was nine years ago, when Steven Gerrard, at the peak of his powers, inspired the Reds to a late comeback before beating West Ham United on penalties.

Blackburn's last victory over Liverpool was in January 2011 when two Benjani goals helped earn them a 3-1 Premier League victory at Ewood Park.

Pre-match comments:

Blackburn manager Gary Bowyer: "The performances against Swansea and Stoke were terrific. You do need that little bit of luck against the Premiership teams and we had that in terms of those two games with the sendings-off.

"But I think back at Ewood, not on a great surface, I'm afraid - credit to the ground staff, as they have worked as hard as they can - the pitch will be a great leveller and we hope we can perform as well as we did at Anfield.

"The Premiership sides, every game has presented itself with a different challenge. It's going to be a really difficult game for us but, firstly, we have earned the right to get a replay and, secondly, we are really looking forward to it.

"We can concentrate on our own game plan and we want to have a right good go at them."

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers: "The group is very committed to winning this trophy but, in order to do that, you have to qualify and we know Blackburn will be a difficult game for us. Then we can look towards the league then and look to finish the season strongly.

"It's something we want to do as a group. We've made steady progress over a couple of seasons and arrived in a Champions League place last year and nearly won the league.

"Blackburn have got some excellent players. They defended well when they came to Anfield. We'll go there really focused and determined - we can't wait to play again after the weekend's disappointment.

"We analysed it yesterday and now we move on. The players are fresh and focused to get a result. We've got a good couple of days now to work and prepare, we'll take that into the game and qualification is important now."

Blackburn defender Markus Olsson: "We've had so many games since the first Liverpool match that we haven't really been thinking about it.

"All of the lads did well in this game, we've been doing well in the cup this season, and hopefully we can put in the same performance. It isn't going to be an easy game, Liverpool are a very good team, but we play well at home, we are strong at home and we have shown that against Premier League teams this season as well.

"Wembley is one game away, everyone at the club wants it, the players, the staff and the supporters it will be something that would be good for the club.

"I've never been there, it is something that would be a great to play at Wembley. Hopefully we will give them a good game, you never know what can happen."

Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet: "We knew that the two games against Manchester United and Arsenal would be very important. We needed to take points from them but we haven't and that's a big disappointment.

"We have to move on. We've got another massive game on Wednesday night. We need to make sure we get through in the FA Cup.

"The FA Cup tie is our only focus now. The FA Cup is very important for us. We have to make sure we are prepared.

"We know what's at stake. We know it won't be an easy game but we need to be ready for Blackburn."

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About the author
Charlie Malam
Digital Sports Writer at the Daily Express. First-class Staffordshire University Sports Journalism graduate. Formerly VAVEL UK's Liverpool FC editor and Deputy Editor-in-Chief. Contributor since June 2014.