Blackburn vs. Manchester United: 5 Players the Red Devils Must Be Wary Of

Manchester United travel to Ewood Park to take on the Blackburn Rovers in a match that could have huge ramifications for the remainder of the English Premier League season.

For United, it's a chance to go five points clear at the top of the table and put them in a very commanding position over cross-town rivals Manchester City.

For Blackburn, a win would continue to ease some of the relegation fears, while a loss would see them stay on 28 points and in serious danger of dropping out of the top class.

Rovers upset the Red Devils when the two sides met earlier in the year, and if United are serious about taking out the Premier League title, they must walk away with all three points in this one.

And for that to happen, they must keep their eyes on the following five players.

Without doubt, the main danger man for United come game time will be the Nigerian international Yakubu Aiyegbeni—the same man that destroyed the Red Devils at Old Trafford earlier in the year.

Yakubu notched up two goals in that match and Manchester will well and truly have their hands full containing the Blackburn striker who's found the back of the net 14 times this season—nine of which came at Elwood Park.

With his eyes already fixed on a hat-trick against United, Yakubu will be the go-to-guy for Blackburn and the main man that United must restrict if they are to take the points.

Yakubu's partner in crime for the match will undoubtedly come in the form of Junior Hoilett who continues to impress as the season goes on.

Hoilett has scored three goals for Rovers in his last three matches, and despite only scoring six goals for the year, he carries with him a great offensive presence.

The Canadian has completed the most dribbles in the league this season, and his strong positional play and running has proved difficult for defenses to handle of late.

Combined with Yakubu, Hoilett poses a unique but very genuine threat to the Red Devils' chances of walking away with the win.

Paul Robinson may be a surprise entry on the list, especially considering the poor form of the Rovers' keeper throughout the season so far.

Whilst Blackburn haven't conceded the highest number of goals this season—that honor falls to Wolverhampton—they have still had to pick the ball out of their net on 62 occasions this year.

Robinson has saved just over half the shots on goal this season, giving him the league's worst shots to save ratio and a severe lack of confidence.

However, recent clean sheets against Wolverhampton and Sunderland have shown that the English keeper can hold the fort when required—albeit against weaker attacks than the likes of Manchester United.

If the 32-year-old can turn out a solid performance and keep United's strikers frustrated early, Rovers may well be able to steal some points off the competition leaders.

Formica was the first Blackburn player to score a goal in the 2011-12 English Premier League season, and he may find himself causing some havoc down the left wing for Rovers again in this one.

The Argentinian will come up against Ashley Young, who scored two critical second half goals in the Red Devils' recent win over Tottenham Hotspur, as well as Patrice Evra. Young can be caught pushing forward and Evra known for moments of—well, panic, shall we say—Formica could easily become a real handful for United's defense.

Hoilett and Yakubu are both strong runners and are able to create chances in the middle, as we've already stated.

If Formica can find some space down the left-hand side and create chances for the two strikers, Blackburn could find themselves on track for another upset—something United will definitely be wary of happening again.

It is no secret that this is United's match to lose and as a result, they could turn out to be their own worst enemies during the match.

Blackburn had just three shots on goal against De Gea in their last encounter, and walked away with three goals thanks to the Spaniard's error-riddled match.

De Gea's form has been superb of late and will hold no fear against the Blackburn attack, but after watching his ability to make simple mistakes, he must not be counted out as a potential villain for United.

The Spaniard has conceded just three goals in his last six Premier League encounters and will look to continue that run at Elwood Park. Yet even with Sir Alex Ferguson's vote of confidence, De Gea is still a player that United should be wary of—at least against Blackburn.

If the Red Devils can keep these four players at bay and the fifth error-free, they should have no trouble chalking up the three points and making a significant step towards their 20th league title.

I'd say United score early through Valencia and Rooney and consolidate on their 2-0 halftime lead with a Berbatov goal just before the end of play making it 3-0 Manchester United and five points clear at the top of the table.

Read more articles by Dan here or follow him on Twitter: @dantalintyre