In the seventh round of fixtures of the new Championship season, Blackburn Rovers will make the short trip to Bloomfield Road to take on Blackpool on Wednesday.
The Lancashire sides are separated by just one point in the second-tier table, with the visitors having lost their last three league outings after making a perfect start to the term.
Match preview
© Reuters
Following promotion-winning manager Neil Critchley's departure over the summer, Blackpool went into the new campaign with Michael Appleton at the helm, and they made a winning start against Reading before suffering defeats to Stoke City and Swansea City and dropping out of the EFL Cup against Barrow.
The Tangerines then travelled to Queens Park Rangers in their bid to return to winning ways and were successful, eventually leaving with a 1-0 victory as Josh Bowler's goal on the stroke of half time made the difference.
With six points from four games, Appleton's men then faced the tough test of a trip to Burnley, and, after trailing 3-1 until the 70th minute, they were eventually able to salvage a share of the spoils as Shayne Lavery and Jerry Yates hit goals in a three-minute span.
They most recently took on Bristol City on home turf and played out another dramatic draw with the same scoreline, having again snatched a point late on as Theo Corbeanu hit a 90th-minute leveller after Bowler and Yates had got on the scoresheet in a back-and-forth encounter at Bloomfield Road.
Now sitting on a pleasing tally of eight points from six outings, the Tangerines will aim to continue their positive start to life under Appleton and leafrog their Lancashire rivals with a home win, but they square off against a side vying to bounce back from a tough run.
© Reuters
Blackburn Rovers also headed into the 2022-23 season with a fresh start, as Jon Dahl Tomasson had taken over from long-standing manager Tony Mowbray, and they enjoyed an impressive start, beginning with 1-0 and 3-0 wins over Queens Park Rangers and Swansea City respectively, before thrashing Hartlepool United 4-0 in an EFL Cup first-round tie.
A 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion, courtesy of goals from Ben Brereton Diaz and Sam Gallagher, then took their tally to nine points from three games, but the Rovers were unable to extend their perfect league record any further, losing 3-0 away at Reading in the following encounter.
Tomasson's men would then suffer a defeat by the same scoreline away at Sheffield United, as Ollie Norwood opened the scoring and Iliman Ndiaye hit a second-half brace, before they were able to scrape a 2-1 victory away at Bradford City in the EFL Cup second round with Bradley Dack and Dilan Markanday getting on the scoresheet.
Hoping to build on that and make a return to winning ways in the Championship, Blackburn hosted Stoke City on Saturday, but they were unable to come away with a result as Lewis Baker's 27th-minute goal made the difference in a 1-0 away victory.
Having now quickly dropped away from the top of the table as a result of their three straight defeats, Blackburn will be desperately looking to bounce back to form with an away win on Wednesday.
- W
- L
- L
- W
- D
- D
- L
- L
- L
- W
- D
- D
- W
- W
- W
- L
- L
- L
- W
- W
- L
- L
- W
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Blackpool have a long list of selection issues to deal with, as Keshi Anderson, Luke Garbutt, Jake Beesley, Charlie Patino and Lewis Fiorini are all sidelined by injuries, while defender Rhys Williams is a doubt after coming off against Bristol City and midfielder Sonny Carey is suspended.
In the likely absence of Williams, Jordan Thorniley could come into the back four alongside Marvin Ekpiteta, while Callum Connolly may have to deputise in midfield alongside Kenneth Dougall.
Theo Corbeanu will be hoping to earn a start after his equaliser off the bench last time out, but he faces stiff competition, with Josh Bowler and Jerry Yates also adding to their tally in that game while Gary Madine will continue to lead the line.
Blackburn also have several injuries to plan around, as defenders Scott Wharton and Callum Brittain are ruled out alongside midfielder Sammie Szmodics.
Given those absences, Joe Rankin-Costello should again operate on the right-hand side of a back four with Ashley Phillips set to join Daniel Ayala in the middle of the defence, while Liverpool loanee Tyler Morton will hope to keep his place in the engine room after coming in alongside John Buckley and Lewis Travis last time out.
Competition for attacking places is particularly rife, with Ben Brereton Diaz bound to feature, while Bradley Dack earned a first league start of the season against Stoke with Sam Gallagher, Tyrhys Dolan, Ryan Hedges and Jack Vale also vying for starting spots.
Blackpool possible starting lineup:
Grimshaw; Lawrence-Gabriel, Ekpiteta, Thorniley, Thompson; Connolly, Dougall; Corbeanu, Bowler; Yates, Madine
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Kaminski; Rankin-Costello, Ayala, Phillips, Pickering; Buckley, Travis, Morton; Brereton Diaz, Gallagher, Dack
We say: Blackpool 2-1 Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn's form has taken a sharp dip in recent weeks, and, while their hosts are yet to establish any consistency in the Championship thus far, we fancy Appleton's men to triumph in front of a Bloomfield Road crowd.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Sam Varley
