Blackpool and Middlesbrough meet in the EFL Cup first round on Wednesday night having both enjoyed a positive start to the new Championship campaign.
A day after newly-promoted Blackpool earned a share of the spoils at Bristol City, Boro replicated that effort with a 1-1 draw at Fulham.
Match preview
© Reuters
Having been presented with a second-tier opener against Bristol City, Blackpool boss Neil Critchley would have been confident about gaining at least a share of the spoils.
While it took until the 92nd minute for their equaliser to arrive at Ashton Gate, it secured a deserved point after they had remained competitive during the second half.
Critchley will likely use this competition to hand game time to his sizable squad, but he will also want to build some momentum ahead of the weekend encounter with Cardiff City.
Shayne Lavery came off the substitutes' bench to net on his debut, an immediate suggestion that he can build on his impressive scoring record at previous club Linfield.
© Reuters
Like their upcoming opponents, Middlesbrough were underdogs ahead of their meeting with recently-relegated Fulham on Sunday afternoon.
However, Boro withstood pressure and several periods without possession to eventually find a leveller at Craven Cottage with 13 minutes remaining.
Marc Bola netted with Boro's only shot on target, but that statistic will only add to Neil Warnock's satisfaction after a strong result in the capital.
Although the veteran manager will be focused on Saturday's encounter with Bristol City, he will demand that the substitutes from the weekend stake a claim for a starting spot.
That includes big-money signing Martin Payero, who will likely be given an opportunity to justify his £6m transfer fee after representing Argentina at the Olympics.
- D
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Lavery and Josh Bowler will hope to feature for Blackpool after they made an impact as substitutes versus Bristol City.
Daniel Grimshaw and Oliver Casey are in line for their first starts in a Blackpool shirt after transfers from Manchester City and Leeds United respectively.
Having made the bench at the weekend, former Kings Lynn midfielder Sonny Carey may also be provided with an opportunity.
Warnock is unlikely to take any risks on Marcus Tavernier, despite the midfielder making an impact as a substitute against Fulham after injury.
However, Luke Daniels, Djed Spence, Lee Peltier, Payero, Isaiah Jones and Josh Coburn will all be considered for starting roles, potentially in a different system.
Blackpool possible starting lineup:
Grimshaw; Connolly, Casey, Husband, Garbutt; Bowler, Carey, Ward, Anderson; John-Jules, Lavery
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Daniels; Spence, Peltier, Fry, Bola; Morsy, McNair, Payero; Jones, Coburn, Ikpeazu
We say: Blackpool 1-2 Middlesbrough
With both teams expected to make a number of changes, it is difficult to predict the winner of what should be a close contest.
However, we marginally favour Boro, who may benefit from more familiarity in comparison to Blackpool's much-changed squad.
Top tip
Darren Plant
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Middlesbrough win with a probability of 43.52%. A win for Blackpool had a probability of 29.17% and a draw had a probability of 27.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Middlesbrough win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.25%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.67%) and 0-2 (8.25%). The likeliest Blackpool win was 1-0 (9.55%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.86%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 1.8% likelihood.
