Blackpool v Sheffield United: Team news, match updates and reaction

“It should be a fantastic evening, I can’t wait for it.

“If you had said to me there would only be six points difference between us and Sheffield United at this stage of the season I think we’d have taken that.

“Six points in front, I mean, not six points behind!

“But no, to be six points behind Sheffield United with 10 games to go, we’re in a good position, we’re in good form, we’ve won five out of our last six at home and we’ve only lost two of the last 11 games in the Championship.

“Those defeats were against Bournemouth and QPR, where we really should have got something from both of those games, so we’re in good form.

“But we’re up against a top team. I’ve seen them play a lot this season and I was really impressed when we were slightly fortunate to beat them away from home.

“I remember saying after that game I think they will improve and they’ll be in the top six come the end of the season and they are.

“They had a bad result at the weekend but that probably makes them even more dangerous.

“It’s a great challenge, but what a game and what an atmosphere it will be. We’ve got 10 games to go, so let’s go for it.”

Jordan Thorniley comes back into contention for selection after missing Saturday’s win against Swansea City through illness.

The defender (above) was one of several players affected by a sickness bug that ran rampant through the squad last week. However, the illness now seems to have passed (quite literally, in some cases).

Reece James and Josh Bowler were two players known to have been affected, but they were still able to play against Swansea at the weekend.

Elsewhere, James Husband came through his 90 minutes unscathed on his return from a lengthy hamstring injury.

Chris Maxwell (quad), Richard Keogh (calf), Jordan Gabriel (hamstring), Luke Garbutt (knee),

Matty Virtue (ACL), Grant Ward (achilles), Sonny Carey (metatarsal) and Keshi Anderson (hamstring) all remain sidelined.

Sheffield United have a lengthy injury list of their own, with Paul Heckingbottom anticipating as many as 10 players could be sidelined for tonight’s game.

Jack O’Connell, Enda Stevens, Ben Davies George Baldock, Jayden Bogle, Charlie Goode, Rhian Brewster, Oli McBurnie and David McGoldrick could all be out, as well as former Seasiders Chris Basham and John Fleck.

The Seasiders are in exceptional form at the minute, fresh from making it three wins on the spin on Saturday against Swansea City.

Neil Critchley’s side are performing particularly well at home, where they’ve won five of their last six. They also boast the longest scoring streak of any side in England’s top four, scoring in 14 consecutive games - a run that stretches back to mid-December.

It all adds up to a spicy encounter tonight against a Sheffield United side that currently occupy that final play-off spot, six points ahead of Critchley’s men.

Should Pool claim a fourth consecutive victory, it will give them confidence of maintaining a late play-off charge during their final nine games of the season. Should they fall to defeat, however, it could well spell the end of any faint top six hopes.

The Blades have performed well since Paul Heckingbottom took charge alongside former Pool assistant Stuart McCall back in November, following the surprise sacking of Slavisa Jokanovic.

The Yorkshire outfit have been hit by injuries in recent weeks though and were beaten 4-1 by fellow promotion hopefuls Coventry City at the weekend.

And welcome to tonight’s live blog.

The Seasiders are back at Bloomfield Road four days on from their 1-0 victory against Swansea City. However, this fixture is their last for 18 days as they break for two-and-a-half weeks for the international window.

Follow the blog for build-up, team news, match updates and post-match reaction.