Blackpool v Shrewsbury Town AS IT HAPPENED: Updates from Bloomfield Road

And welcome to today’s live blog, where we’ll bring you all the build-up, team news and updates from Blackpool’s pivotal League One encounter against Shrewsbury Town.

Follow our blog for regular updates throughout the day.

Blackpool will be looking to bounce back and return to winning ways after losing their 16-game unbeaten run with a 1-0 defeat against lowly Rochdale on Tuesday night.

Nevertheless, the Seasiders have another unbeaten run to protect, returning to Bloomfield Road where they haven’t been beaten since October 20. That run stretches back six months and 18 games in all competitions.

More importantly, a victory for Neil Critchley’s side will hand them a major boost in their bid to finish in the League One play-offs. As it stands, they sit in fifth, three points clear of seventh-placed Oxford United with two games in hand.

Today’s opponents Shrewsbury probably need to pick up another point or two to secure their League One safety. The Shrews, whose manager Steve Cotterill is absent through ill health, sit on 50 points, seven points clear of the bottom four. This afternoon they’ll be aiming to avoid their fourth straight defeat.

Daniel Gretarsson will be missing for the second game running after dislocating his shoulder during last weekend’s 1-0 win against Sunderland.

The defender has since undergone a scan, which revealed no significant damage. But the 24-year-old is still likely to be missing for at least a couple of weeks.

Elsewhere, Kevin Stewart (ankle), Keshi Anderson (hamstring) and Gary Madine (groin) are all making good progress and could play some part between now and the end of the season.

Matty Virtue and CJ Hamilton won’t feature again this season, while Bez Lubala is still unavailable due to a ‘club matter’.

“If you look at the way they play and the way Steve Cotterill has set them up, they often play five at the back and they make it hard for you to break them down.

“They don’t concede too many goals, although they might have done in a couple of games recently.

“But from watching their games, some of the goals they’ve conceded have been really unfortunate. They’ve made a couple of individual mistakes that have cost them goals, it’s not like it’s a collective effort. It’s not something that is a team problem.

“They’ve got some good players, their midfield players are good players and in the forward line they’ve got enough to cause you problems.

“If you look at Steve’s record since he’s come in, I think if you did the league from when he first came in they would be in the top half of the table. That suggests we’ve got a tough game on our hands.”

“They went 16 games unbeaten before their loss against Rochdale, so they have been doing really well.

“We managed to get the three points against them at our place earlier in the season. They are a good side and they try to play good football. Their manager has them playing really well so we know it’s going to be a tough game away from home.

“Jerry Yates is another good player and you have to be in order to reach the goal tally that he has this season. He looks lively every time you see him play, he was the same when they played at the Meadow. He is someone we have to watch out for.

“We have to take the positives from the second-half the other night (against Wigan) and go into this game looking to earn the three points. There has been a mixed bag of performances recently but the lads need to go into games feeling confident.”

Despite losing their 16-game unbeaten run at Rochdale in midweek, Neil Critchley opts to make just one change to the Blackpool side.

Jordan Gabriel is the man to come into the line-up, replacing Ollie Turton at right-back to give the Seasiders more of an attacking impetus.

Aside from that, the squad is unchanged with Daniel Gretarsson, Kevin Stewart, Matty Virtue, Keshi Anderson, CJ Hamilton and Gary Madine still sidelined through injury and Bez Lubala still unavailable due to a ‘club matter’.

Shrewsbury, who come into today’s game on the back of three straight defeats, hand a first ever start to 18-year-old forward Charlie Caton as they make four changes from their midweek defeat to Wigan.

The Shrews continue to be led by assistant Aaron Wilbraham in the absence of manager Steve Cotterill, who has been sidelined by serious ill-health for four months.

And kick-off is moments away.

Can the Seasiders bounce back from their midweek disappointment and claim a vital win in their bid to finish in the League One play-offs? We’ll soon find out.

Up the mighty Pool!