Blackpool v Newcastle - Premier League match preview.
Newcastle head to Blackpool this weekend for a match that carries significance for both sides.
Blackpool will be wanting to win as they try and battle against the dreaded drop after slipping into the relegation zone for the first time this season last weekend, whilst Newcastle will be looking to win so they can finally banish any slim chance of becoming involved in the relegation scrap as we head towards the final month of the season.
Both sides will be boosted by the return of their respective captains as Charlie Adam has recovered enough from his ankle injury to feature and Kevin Nolan returns from suspension to further bolster the away sides attacking threat.
Blackpool have the worst home record in the Premier League and have picked up only 15 points from their 17 games at Bloomfield Road. Their recent form isn't overly impressive either. They've lost the last three games and have only won one game out of the last 13. I hate these kind of stats!
The Seasiders are without David Carney and Chris Basham but are confident that David Vaughan could return after missing two games with a hip problem. They'll more than likely line up in a 4-3-3 formation and ping a lot of diagonal balls around the pitch, and they'll probably line up with a team that looks a bit like this.
Blackpool: Matt Gilks, Neil Eardley, Ian Evatt, Craig Cathcart, Crainey, Gary Taylor-Fletcher, Charlie Adam, Keith Southern, Luke Varney, DJ Campbell, Elliot Grandin.
As mentioned earlier, Kevin Nolan will return to the Newcastle starting XI at the expense of Danny Guthrie who has picked up an ankle injury and will miss the match. Tim Krul will continue in goal for the injured Steve Harper while Stephen Ireland will likely have to settle for a space on the bench again. Alan Smith, Dan Gosling, Hatem Ben Arfa and Leon Best are all still out injured and are at various stages in their respective recoveries.
We'll probably be lining up in a 4-4-2 formation although there is a bit of scope for change as we could easily employ Stephen Ireland 'in the hole' after his impressive cameo the other night against Manchester United. It's probably too soon however so I'll plump with a team of;
Newcastle: Tim Krul, Danny Simpson, Mike Williamson, Fabricio Coloccini, Jose Enrique, Joey Barton, Cheik Tiote, Kevin Nolan, Jonas Gutierrez, Shola Ameobi, Peter Lovenkrands.
Newcastle haven't won at Bloomfield Road for 40 years, although to be fair we have only played there a handful of times between then and now.
With regard to recent history it's Blackpool who hold the upper hand with two victories to our one in the last three games.
Personally I hate games like this as they can lead to complacency amongst fans. On paper we are the better team and have the better form and league position. The problem is that football isn't played on paper and games against sides where we are favourites tend to worry me.
We should be going for the win, but I wouldn't be overly upset with a draw. A defeat would be disappointing however and is something we should obviously try and avoid. However, I'm more confident going into these type of games than I used to be for some reason so I think we'll get the job done.
Howay the lads!
