Little more than 60 hours after both sides faced stiff tests away from home, Arsenal and Blackburn Rovers lock horns in a televised FA Cup fifth-round tie at Ashburton Grove on Saturday.

Blackburn will be buoyed by the two away goals they grabbed in a narrow UEFA Cup defeat in Leverkusen, whilst the Gunners will be on a high, having overcome bogey side Bolton at the Reebok.

Arsenal face a Champions League test in Eindhoven next Tuesday so Arsene Wenger will once again shuffle his increasingly youthful pack. It would be a surprise if the likes of Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas and Aleksandr Hleb were to be in the starting line-up. Long-term casualties William Gallas and Robin Van Persie will also be absent, but the form shown by the ‘squad players’ in recent weeks mean that Gooners will still be anticipating a positive outcome to the contest.

Blackburn will arrive in north London without Morten Gamst Pedersen, Robbie Savage, Andre Ooijer, Steven Reid and Matt Derbyshire and their squad depth will be severely tested. They do, however, boast in-form Benni McCarthy up front and a former Gunner, David Bentley, who will be keen to embarrass his former employers.

The sides have met twice in recent months and Arsenal grabbed all six Premiership points, winning 6-2 at the Grove in December before producing a 2-0 raid on Ewood Park last month. Their last FA Cup meeting resulted in a 3-0 semi-final victory for the Gunners just two years ago.

It’s tough to make a compelling case for anything other than a home win. The wily and experienced midfield pairing of David Dunn and Tugay will need to roll back the years to nullify the probing of the Arsenal creators. Bentley and Brett Emerton will have to put in a double shift on the flanks to support McCarthy and Nonda whilst denying the hosts space to attack the full-backs.