Premier League preview: Blackburn v Aston Villa

Blackburn boss Steve Kean believes his side’s bid to avoid relegation will be decided by a pivotal March.

Rovers, who sit 18th on the table and have conceded a league-high 59 goals in just 26 matches, host another out-of-form side, Aston Villa, at Ewood Park on Saturday.

Villa are without a win in their last five fixtures and have slipped to 15th.

And Kean feels a victory against Alex McLeish’s men would give them a perfect boost ahead of a crucial month in their season.

“The month we have coming up is perfect,” Kean said.

“It is just what we need. All the teams round and about us have got to go to tough games.”

“The games we have coming up against teams around us means it is going to be a massive month for us. We got through Saturday (a 3-0 loss at Manchester City) with no injuries, and we will soon have Gael Givet and Jason Lowe back from suspension.”

Kean will also be without Vince Grella (thigh) on Saturday, although David Dunn is likely to return from the same injury.

Aston Villa’s injury list is longer, and tellingly for McLeish, includes striker Darren Bent.

Bent, who has 10 goals for the club this term, has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with an ankle injury.

With Gabriel Agbonlahor the club’s next top scorer with just five goals, it means that Bent’s absence will be felt by a Villa side who have struggled to hit the back of the net this season.

Also sidelined for the club is Fabian Delph (ankle), Ciaran Clark (knee) and Richard Dunne (collarbone) but Stiliyan Petrov, Chris Herd and Alan Hutton could all return from injury against Blackburn.

They are without a win in their last five fixtures and will be watching over their shoulder against Blackburn, knowing that a defeat would send them closer to the relegation zone.

But the match also provides them with an opportunity to kick away from the bottom five and Villa will be a hopeful of a repeat from the last time the two sides met in August, when they won 3-1.

Blackburn have won three of the last five meetings between the two sides though, meaning that both squads will be confident ahead of Saturday’s important fixture.