MX23RW : Wednesday, March 12 06:10:17| >> :600:161658:161658:
[monks data]
Blackpool
Championship
Feb 14, 2015 at 3pm UK
 
Nottingham Forest logo

4-4

Madine (45'), Orlandi (66'), Davies (73'), Ferguson (97')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Blackstock (68'), Gardner (70'), Lansbury (77' pen.), Burke (95')

Preview: Blackpool vs. Nottingham Forest

Sports Mole previews Saturday's clash between bottom-of-the-table Blackpool and Nottingham Forest, who are looking to maintain their perfect record under Dougie Freedman.

Dougie Freedman will look to maintain his 100% record in charge of Nottingham Forest when his side take on bottom-of-the-table Blackpool at Bloomfield Road on Saturday.

Stuart Pearce's successor has quickly turned the club's fortunes around and boasts two wins from two so far in his time at the helm, following a run of just three wins in 23 outings for the team before that.

Hope of a resurgent charge towards the playoff places has not yet completely evaporated for the East Midlands outfit, but they remain closer to the bottom three than they are to the top six and will need to be almost faultless for the rest of the season if they are to close the 12-point gap to Brentford.

Things will get tougher for Freedman too. His fairytale start has been aided by a kind fixture list, with Blackpool this weekend making it three of the bottom four that he has faced in his first trio of matches.

After that comes a meeting with former club Bolton Wanderers before Freedman's side host high-flying Bournemouth, which will perhaps provide the sternest test of their slim playoff credentials.

For now, though, things are beginning to look up for Forest. They have rediscovered their scoring touch with six goals in their last two outings, three of which came in a comfortable victory over Wigan Athletic on Wednesday night.

Britt Assombalonga was back amongst the goals during that match, but the striker is expected to miss the next few weeks having been stretchered off in the second half.

Matty Fryatt and Dexter Blackstock will be competing to replace Assombalonga in the starting lineup, but that could be the only change for Freedman, who has named the same starting XI in both of his games so far.

The absence of Assombalonga will be welcome news for Blackpool, who will be looking to build on an encouraging, if ultimately fruitless, performance in midweek.

The Tangerines held Middlesbrough for the vast majority of the game before eventually falling to a 2-1 defeat, with all of the goals coming in the final 10 minutes and Kike's winner arriving with only two minutes left.

Nevertheless, it was their fourth defeat in their last five outings and the gap to safety is now 10 points - surely an unassailable one with 16 games left for a side that has picked up only 20 points so far this season.

If they are to pull off a miracle escape then their home form is likely to be key, and the Seasiders have not been pushovers in front of their own fans so far this season.

The only teams to have beaten them at Bloomfield Road since September are those that currently occupy the top four positions in the table, while they haven't lost a home game against any team outside the top nine in the current campaign.

Manager Lee Clark has already labelled this match a "must-win" if they are to pull off an "impossible job", and he is expected to turn to youngsters Henry Cameron and Dom Telford in midfield once again.

Gary Madine is also pushing for a start, with Blackpool in desperate need of goals having scored just seven in their last nine league outings.

Blackpool:

Recent form: WLLWLL

Possible starting lineup: Lewis; McMahon, Clarke, O'Dea, Dunne; Perkins, O'Hara, Orlandi, Telford, Cameron; Madine

Nottingham Forest:

Recent form: LWLLWW

Possible starting lineup: Darlow; Lichaj, Hobbs, Collins, Fox; Burke, Gardner, Lansbury, Osborn, Antonio; Fryatt

Sports Mole says: 1-3


ID:205011: cacheID:205011:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:6149:
Written by
Barney Corkhill
No Data Analysis info

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Goalscorers Patrick Bamford and Garcia Kike of Middlesbrough celebrate after the FA Cup Fourth Round match against Manchester City on January 24, 2015
Read Next:
Team News: Middlesbrough make seven changes
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Birmingham CityBirmingham35257358233582
2Wycombe WanderersWycombe351911561332868
3Wrexham36208850302068
4Charlton AthleticCharlton36189947311663
5Stockport CountyStockport361711852341862
6Bolton WanderersBolton36186125954560
7Huddersfield TownHuddersfield361771247331458
8Reading361610105145658
9Leyton Orient361651551371453
10Barnsley36157145051-152
11Blackpool36121595448651
12Stevenage36139143437-348
13Lincoln CityLincoln361210144845346
14Rotherham UnitedRotherham35128153941-244
15Wigan AthleticWigan351110143234-243
16Exeter CityExeter35127163950-1143
17Bristol Rovers36126183955-1642
18Mansfield TownMansfield36118174150-941
19Northampton TownNorthampton361011153653-1741
20Peterborough UnitedPeterborough35109165260-839
21Burton Albion36712173653-1733
22Crawley TownCrawley3679203866-2830
23Cambridge UnitedCambridge3678213560-2529
24Shrewsbury TownShrewsbury3677223460-2628


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!