Blackburn Starting Approach

Blackburn lined up in a 3-4-3 with wide players Harrison and Bennett operating as wing backs. Their idea was to play it long to Graham to win knockdowns and create opportunities from the second ball. Graham would deliberately line up against Sterry rather than Clark and Fernandez, which gave him a better chance at winning the physical battle. Armstrong would then drift infield from the left to create danger from Graham winning the knockdown.

Defensively, they set out a mid-block in between the 18-yard box and the half-way line. They used a one-man press in the final third, either through Graham or Armstrong but once Newcastle moved the ball into midfield they would pressure in numbers. Their 3 man defence set up left plenty of space on the flanks for Newcastle to utilise.