There could be a case for billing this as a battle of which team drifts off first. Arsenal cannot finish above third and will not be overly troubled by the thought of Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City wheezing down their necks. Blackburn might cast themselves as the types to rattle Arsenal but this fixture usually brings an easy win for today’s visitors. Sam Allardyce will no doubt impress on his charges the importance of climbing at least one place up the table, with each rung on the ladder worth an extra £720,000. James Callow

Venue Ewood Park, Monday 5pm (ESPN) Tickets £28-£35 (0871 222 1444) Last season Blackburn 0 Arsenal 4 Referee M Atkinson

This season’s matches 29 Y118, R6, 4.21 cards per game

Odds Blackburn 11-4 Arsenal 15-13 Draw 5-2

Blackburn Rovers

Subs from Brown, Grella, Samba, Emerton, Diouf, Jacobsen, Chimbonda, Hoilett, Kalinic, Di Santo, Bunn, Basturk

Doubtful Samba (groin), Emerton (hamstring)

Injured None

Suspended None

Form guide DLDDWW

Disciplinary record Y56 R2

Leading scorer Dunn 8

Arsenal

Subs from Mannone, Traoré, Mérida, Eastmond, Eduardo, Vela, Arshavin,

Bendtner, Walcott

Doubtful Arshavin (calf)

Injured Almunia (wrist, 9 May), Fábregas (leg, Aug), Denílson (groin, Aug), Djourou (knee, Aug), Gibbs (foot, Aug), Gallas (calf, Aug), Vermaelen (calf, Aug), Ramsey (broken leg, Dec) Suspended None

Form guide DLLWDW Disciplinary record Y52 R1

Leading scorer Fábregas 15

Match pointers

• Arsenal have scored 14 goals in their last three league meetings with Blackburn

• Paul Robinson has let in 47 goals in his last 15 league games against Arsenal

• Blackburn have not lost back-to-back home Premier League matches since Sam Allardyce took over in 2008

• Arsenal have dropped 12 points from winning positions away from home this season, more than any other team except Wigan (13)

• Blackburn have hit the goal frame 17 times this season, a joint high with Liverpool

Blackburn RoversArsenalPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk

• Blackburn and Everton players both booked for confrontation
• ‘He can keep his hands away from my face,’ says Norwegian

The Blackburn midfielder Morten Gamst Pedersen was astonished Mikel Arteta was not sent off after their clash during Everton’s 3-2 win at Ewood Park on Saturday.

The 28-year-old Norway international appeared to be poked in the eye by the Spaniard after an angry exchange between the players. Both were booked by the referee, Andre Marriner, but Pedersen was surprised to be handed the same punishment as Arteta.

He told Blackburn Rovers TV: “If he got a yellow, I don’t know why I got a yellow. I was just standing still. If I should have a yellow, then maybe he should have something else. But that’s up to the referee.

“It’s a challenge between me and Arteta and he got really angry. I was just standing still and he came into my face. It’s OK people shouting at each other – that’s part of football – but he can keep his hands away from my face.

“When he poked me in the eye, it’s not like you have to throw yourself on the floor because you are going to show he has hit you. He poked me in the eye, but there is nothing I can do now.”

Blackburn RoversEvertonPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk

• Blackburn striker was stopped in Manchester on 14 September
• Court appearance set for 10 May

The Blackburn striker El Hadji Diouf will appear in court next month charged with driving offences, the Crown Prosecution Service said today.

The 29-year-old was summonsed over allegations that he drove without a licence or insurance when stopped by police in Manchester in September.

Diouf was stopped in a white Porsche Cayenne in Altrincham Road on 14 September. He is due to appear at Manchester City magistrates court on 10 May, a CPS spokesman said.

The Senegalese striker has had a mixed season for Rovers. He scored the equaliser in Blackburn’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Ewood Park last month but has found the net on only two other occasions this season. Blackburn next face Manchester United at home on Sunday.

Blackburn RoversCrimeguardian.co.uk