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[monks data]
Blackpool
Championship
May 3, 2014 at 12.15pm UK
 
Charlton Athletic

0-3

FT(HT: 0-0)
Harriott (61', 82', 90')

Preview: Blackpool vs. Charlton Athletic

Sports Mole looks ahead to the final day of the Championship season as relegation-threatened Blackpool take on Charlton at Bloomfield Road.

Recent wins for both Blackpool and Charlton Athletic mean that Saturday's meeting between the two sides at Bloomfield Road is not quite as high stakes as it might have been, but plenty still rests on the result.

Blackpool took a massive leap towards safety last weekend with an unexpected 2-0 victory over Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium, a result that lifted them out of the bottom three and up to 18th.

They have since been replaced in that position by Charlton, however, as the Addicks secured their own Championship status for another season at least with a 3-1 win over Watford on Tuesday.

Victory on the final day would see the Seasiders move back above the London outfit, but that valuable win over Wigan means that they only need a point to guarantee survival.

Indeed, it would take an unlikely set of results for Blackpool to be relegated now, with Millwall, Doncaster Rovers and Birmingham City all needing to win, in addition to Blackpool losing, for them to go down.

It looks, then, like Barry Ferguson's side will be safe for another season, but they will know that they have escaped by the skin of their teeth. Having appeared more likely to be involved in a playoff battle than a relegation scrap earlier in the campaign, Blackpool had picked up just 12 points from a possible 81 before their win against the Latics.

Most of their success in that period came at Bloomfield Road, but they have still managed just two wins from their last 13 games in front of their own fans and have lost their last three.

However, Ferguson will be hoping that the side that pulled off such a remarkable result against Wigan will do the same this weekend, so he could name an unchanged XI.

Charlton will be breathing very easily now having waited until the penultimate hurdle to finally take advantage of their game in hand and secure Championship survival.

As it looks like being for Blackpool, it has been a narrow escape for the Addicks, although manager Jose Riga does deserve credit for improving the team since taking over.

Consistency has been an issue, but that would not have been a major concern for a team in the midst of a relegation battle, particularly when they were picking up victories here and there to boost their survival chances.

Riga will now want to set about working to ensure that they don't have such a nervy time of things next season, although he has admitted that he is not 100% certain about his future with the club.

If this is to be the Belgian's final match in charge then he is likely to go out having named an unchanged side from the team that beat Watford on Tuesday.

Recent form

Blackpool: LLLLDW

Charlton: LLDWLW

Possible starting lineups

Blackpool: Gilks; McMahon, McGahey, Cathcart, Halliday; Basham, Osbourne; Perkins, Bishop, Dobbie; Keogh

Charlton: Hamer; Solly, Dervite, Morrison, Fox; Harriott, Jackson, Poyet, Wilson; Cousins; Sordell

Sports Mole says: 1-0


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Written by
Barney Corkhill
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Blackpool manager Barry Ferguson looks on during the Championship match against Reading on January 28, 2014
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