Neil Critchley rubbishes talk that Blackpool will treat Fulham clash as a 'free hit'

There isn’t a tougher game in the Championship than facing runaway leaders Fulham at Craven Cottage.
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That’s according to Neil Critchley, who takes his Blackpool side to the bank of the Thames this weekend looking for a third straight league victory.

The Seasiders will be up against it, facing a Cottagers squad who have won their last four games on the bounce with 22 goals scored.

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It leaves Marco Silva’s team, whom Blackpool beat earlier in the season, five points clear at the top of the Championship.

“We know Fulham away, with the form they’re in, this is the most difficult game you face in this division. You can’t get a tougher fixture than this,” Critchley said.

“They’ve won the most games in the division, they’ve lost the least, they’re a Premier League team in waiting really.

“We know the task we’re facing, but we’ve won back-to-back games and we’ve beaten them once already this season.

Blackpool boss Neil CritchleyBlackpool boss Neil Critchley
Blackpool boss Neil Critchley
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“It will be doubly difficult away from home where it will be completely different (to the 1-0 win in September), but our record against the top teams last season and this season has been relatively good, so we can draw some confidence from that.”

When asked if he considers this game to be a free hit, Critchley responded emphatically: “I don’t see any game as a free hit really.

“When we cross the white line on Saturday, I will have an expectation on us performing and performing well. We will be prepared.

“It’s about us being us and not changing who we are, believing in what we’re doing and we’ve got to give everything we’ve got to try and get a result. We’re no different home and away, so why not go to Fulham and try and be the best of what we can be?

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“The run they’re on is absolutely incredible. Seven goals, six, six, then they go to Stoke last week without Harry Wilson and Aleksandar Mitrovic and still score three goals against a Stoke side that are really well organised and hard to score against.

“They’ve just got a high quality team.”

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