Tim Sherwood is a doubt as Blackburn travel to Highfield Road looking to book a UEFA Cup place for next season. The influential skipper will need a late check on an ankle injury that caused him to limp out of Wednesday night's win at Chelsea. But boss Roy Hodgson has a ready-made replacement available should Sherwood fail to make it, with former England midfielder Jason Wilcox is free again after a two-match ban. Australian goalkeeper John Filan, who has kept successive clean sheets since getting back into the side after nine months out with a broken arm, is again likely to keep injury-plagued Tim Flowers on the sidelines. Hodgson said: ''We are feeling much better after a couple of positive results and performances, and Europe is still very much on - although it remains tight. To be fair, we have only been out of the top six once all season, and if we didn't qualify it would be very sad considering the amount of work put in.'' The match provides another chance for Roy Hodgson to run the rule of Coventry's 21-goal striker Dion Dublin, the man he wants to sign in the close season. Meanwhile, City boss Gordon Strachan will make a late decision on whether to recall Dutch midfielder George Boateng, who has been out for four games with a thigh muscle injury sustained in the derby against Aston Villa. The Sky Blues have drawn every game he has missed and Strachan was sharply critical of his midfield in the midweek goalless draw against Wimbledon. Now he has to decide to axe either Willie Boland or Norwegian international Trond Soltvedt to make way for the £250,000 Boateng. His son Gavin Strachan and Paul Williams could also be in line to play, while Magnus Hedman will keep his place in goal after his clean sheet against Wimbledon. Strachan said: ''George has trained for the last couple of days and looks fine but I will wait to see how he is. His base fitness is not very high and I might have to bear that in mind. I know the fitness of the players I have been around for the last 18 months and I can tell which of them is able to cope with 90 minutes' football after being out for three weeks." MATCH FACTS Last season: Coventry 0-0 Blackburn, Blackburn 4-0 Coventry Last five League matches: Coventry L D D D D, Blackburn L L L D W Top scorers: Dion Dublin (Coventry) 21, Kevin Gallacher, Chris Sutton (Blackburn) 20 Match odds: H 11-8 A 6-4 D 12-5 365 PREDICTS Coventry 2 Blackburn 2. The midweek victory at Chelsea shows Rovers are over their yips and yet another draw seems on the cards for an erratic Coventry side doing little for Gordon Strachan's blood pressure.

SAINTS OUT FOR REVENGE Southampton v Derby   Southampton manager Dave Jones has ordered a revenge strike on the club which hammered them 4-0 in September and eliminated them from the FA Cup in January. A win would see his side jump Derby and into 10th position. Jim Smith's side are just two points ahead this morning after a horrid stretch of one victory in eight matches. Jones said: They are a good side but we've come a long way since we played them in September, when we had a lot of injury problems. In the FA Cup, a lucky penalty was the main reason they won. Midfielder John Beresford's ankle ligament injury keeps him out and the Saints are also without England Under-21 striker Kevin Davies (knee) and midfielder David Hughes (calf). Derby will be missing striker Francesco Baiano (knee) and will give late tests to skipper Igor Stimac (chest infection) and wing back Stefano Eranio (groin) but those are not the only problems for boss Smith. The Bald Eagle is still baffled by the recent slump and admitted: It looks as if we will miss Europe and, after reaching a good position at the end of February, that disappoints everybody in the club.'' MATCH FACTS Last season: Southampton 3-1 Derby, Derby 1-1 Southampton Last five League matches: Southampton L L D L W, Derby D W L L L Top scorers: Matt Le Tissier (Southampton) 13, Paulo Wanchope (Derby) 16 Match odds: H 10-11 A 9-4 D 5-2 FOOTBALL365 PREDICTS Southampton 2 Derby 1. The Rams' dismal recent form suggests a home win here and the fact that Smith's side have only won 13 points on their travels all season seems to confirm it.

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