Blackpool are set to host Stoke City at Bloomfield Road on Wednesday in the Championship. The hosts will be looking forward to grabbing all three points at home as they come back from a narrow away victory over Sheffield United. Meanwhile, the visitors head into the game after a six-goal thriller against Cardiff City at home.
Following their narrow away win, Blackpool currently occupy sixth place with 24 points. They are in good form and have continued to rise as they won promotion from League One last season after an incredible run. They have won their last three home matches and would be looking forward to adding one more to their name. The Seasiders’ incredible run can also be mapped through their goal-scoring abilities. The team has scored two to three goals in 12 of their matches this season. Keshi Anderson has scored in consecutive fixtures, which has given a boost to his team’s confidence. However, the home side have been plagued by multiple injuries, with seven players ruled out of Wednesday night’s game.
Keshi Anderson has been one of the promising players for Blackpool this season. The winger has scored two goals and provided two assists in 14 appearances so far and stands third in terms of smart passes and 15th in terms of smart passes per 90.
Despite lacking in most of the stats against their opponent in the previous game, Blackpool were lucky to take an away win with the help of Keshi Anderson. They did not do enough to press against Sheffield, however, at the end of the final whistle, they got the desired result. They have been a better side in their previous matches with seven wins, three draws and five losses.
In terms of successful dribbles and successful dribbles per 90, Blackpool are placed at the ninth position, which indicates that they have the potential to win one-on-one battles against the opposition defenders and get into threatening positions. Josh Bowler had the highest xT (0.088) from his dribbles against Sheffield.
Stoke City started the season on an excellent note, however, they failed to keep up with it. Stoke dropped a three-goal advantage against Cardiff City as things fell apart from them in the second half. The Potters will try to put an end to their four-game winless run and push for promotion coming this Wednesday. Stoke continue to have a strong squad, however, they have not been able to take full advantage of it as a team.
After Stoke City’s commanding 3-0 lead over Cardiff in the first half, Cardiff made an incredible comeback in the second half to level the score. The Potters lacked confidence going into the second half as they ended up conceding three goals in five minutes and had to settle with a draw. So far, they have scored 20 goals and conceded 19 goals. Their main concern is their leaky defense which has been one of the reasons for their negative results.
Stoke City are placed near the bottom in terms of defensive duels and defensive duels per 90. They have conceded 19 goals so far. The Potters have failed to avoid individual errors and have also been unable to protect their leads. They will be looking forward to be a better defensive side against their host.
Predicted Eleven
Blackpool (4-4-2): Grimshaw; Lawrence-Gabriel, Ekpiteta, Keogh, Garbutt; Bowler, Dougall, Wintle, Anderson; Yates, Madine.
Stoke City (3-5-2): Bursik; Wilmot, Souttar, Batth; Smith, Vrancic, Allen, Clucas, Tymon; Brown, Fletcher.
Prediction
Blackpool’s current form will help them have an upper hand, but Stoke City could provide them a tough test. Blackpool is likely to edge this one out.
