Angel can be a devil to stop - Enckelman

The Aston Villa striker has emerged from the shadows to fire the Midlanders to within touching distance of the Carling Cup final.

And fresh from gunning down big-spending Chelsea on Wednesday night, now the Colombian hit-man has Rovers firmly in his sights as the two clubs prepare to go head-to-head in a six-pointer at Ewood Park tomorrow.

It's taken three seasons for Angel to rediscover the kind of explosive goal-scoring form which first persuaded Villa to cough up £9.5 million for his services in January 2001.

Some had written him off as a big-money flop after a paltry return of just 14 goals in two and a half years with the club.

However, the arrival of David O'Leary as manager in the summer appears to have given Angel a new lease of life.

And now the 28-year-old, who has found the net a total of 12 times so far this term, is starting to turn in the kind of performances that his team-mate Enckelman always knew he was capable of producing.

"I think he's had the opportunity to really show what he can do this season," said Enckelman, who is currently on loan at Rovers from Villa.

"When he first came in he had a few family problems involving his wife and baby so it was a bad time for him and he found it hard to settle in.

"After that, he didn't really get a proper chance. When he played, he didn't get the goals so he struggled to get a regular game.

"But this season, he's been looking a lot better and he's started to score the goals you would expect from a striker.

"He's certainly got an instinct for goal and he can be a dangerous player so he's someone we need to be wary of.

"He's a good finisher, otherwise he wouldn't be here, but it's not just him we need to be careful of, they've got 10 other players in the team as well.

"Like Blackburn, Villa have got quality players right through their team so you can't just focus on one of them, you've got to think about all of them."

Villa could certainly do with a bit of magic from their leading scorer as they gear up for a busy festive programme.

Last season they finished a disappointing 16th and the installation of O'Leary as manager has not sparked an immediate improvement in results.

In fact, just two wins from their opening 13 games in the Premiership saw the club slide towards the bottom three.

Now just goal difference separates Rovers and Villa in the table so both sides are looking for a pre-Christmas pick-me-up tomorrow as they look to distance themselves from the cluster of clubs at the bottom.

"I'm surprised to see where both clubs are at the moment," said Enckelman.

"Both sides should be higher up in the table than they are.

"Villa finished 16th last season and they should have done better than that.

"But I'm sure both teams will end up finishing in mid-table at least.

"This league is so tight that Blackburn could easily finish in the top six again and Villa could get in the top 10 or maybe even the top six themselves, too.

"Basically, everything that's possible for one club is possible for the other club."

In the meantime, Enckelman admits it will feel strange facing Villa tomorrow, even though he's only likely to be on the bench for Rovers.

The Finnish international was a regular in the Villa side last season but then lost his place after O'Leary signed Thomas Sorensen from Sunderland in the summer.

"I haven't been told any reasons why I lost my place," said Enckelman.

"All I know is the new manager came in, he had a look at us, and he then brought Sorensen in and decided to go with him as number one, Postma as number two, and me as his number three.

"So as far as I'm concerned, I know where I stand. I just think he saw pre-season training and thought that was the way he wanted it.

"I've been there five years and in all that time I've also had a good relationship with the fans.

"Even after what happened last year, they've still been good to me so there is a bit of an emotional tie there. But tomorrow I'll be representing Blackburn, which will feel a bit strange, so it will be interesting."