Aston Villa v Blackburn: Updates, team news and betting odds

I've called this game must win and if we do end up the day three points better off we would also end the day a point better off than Blackburn, who are currently eleventh in the table.

But like I said yesterday or the day before, it isn't must win because it will all come to an end if we don't, but it is must win so we can start to finally get some points on the board.

After today, we have ten games left and we need to pick up a few points between now and the end of the season and we need to see the type of performances that will give us confidence going into the summer and next season.

Fourth time a charm

This is the fourth time we will play Blackburn this season and while we have won the two cup meetings, we lost in the league in November and it wasn't nice.

In November, we played Downing on the right and he wasn't as prolific as we all hoped or thought he would be when signing him. He still isn't, but hopefully today, he will be played on the left and maybe we might see a little bit more of him and what he is about.

Live updates and banter

We will be updating this page, tweeting on Twitter and if you can not get to Villa Park and you can't watch on TV, you know you can watch it live here and if you have anything you would like to share, you know you can below.

I'm off to have a cheeky bet on us today and while I don't think Bent will score three, I'm having a fiver on him to score and I might, because I'm feeling lucky, put a little something on Ashley to get one too. I think he might start to put in a few man of the match performances between now and the end of the season. But that is just a guess.

Aston Villa v Blackburn odds

Team news

Friedel, Walker, Dunne, Clark, Baker, Albrighton, Reo-Coker, Downing, Ashley, Pires and Bent. On the bench: Marshall, Gabby, Herd, Petrov, Bradley, Heskey and Delph.