Blackpool v Swansea City: Team news, match updates and reaction

The away side get the game started.

Up the mighty Pool!

Russell Martin has just made his way onto the pitch and over to the East Stand to applaud the 2,000 or so Swansea fans.

Great noise and numbers from the Swans to be fair given they’ve got very little to play for.

Looks like there will be a good crowd in today. Both NW and SW corners are already filling up nicely.

Swansea due to bring around 2,000 as well.

Neil Critchley has made three changes to his Blackpool side for today’s game against Swansea City.

Pool’s head coach has opted to switch things up tactically as well, naming just one striker in his starting line-up in Gary Madine.

Could it be a back four, with Callum Connolly joining Kevin Stewart and Kenny Dougall in midfield? Or will Connolly drop into a back three?

Either way, one man who will be lining up in defence is James Husband, who returns from injury to make his first appearance since the FA Cup defeat to Hartlepool in January.

Connolly and Charlie Kirk also come into the side, as Jordan Thorniley, CJ Hamilton and Shayne Lavery make way.

The latter two were named among the substitutes, but Thorniley missed out with the neck and back spasm he suffered in the win at Stoke last week.

Chris Maxwell (quad), Richard Keogh (calf), Luke Garbutt (knee), J, Matty Virtue (ACL), Grant Ward (achilles), Sonny Carey (metatarsal) and Keshi Anderson (hamstring) all remain sidelined.

Neil Critchley’s biggest decision will be at centre-back if Jordan Thorniley isn’t able to prove his fitness.

Ollie Casey seems like the most obvious choice, but what about James Husband? The defender has trained for the past two weeks and Critchley confirmed he will be in contention.

Whether or not the 28-year-old is fit enough to play the full 90, we’ll have to wait and see given he’s not featured since the FA Cup defeat at Hartlepool in January.

Both Owen Dale and Charlie Kirk will be pushing to start, but CJ Hamilton’s pace could prove effective against a Swansea side that like to keep hold of the ball.

In attack, there’s the usual conundrum of who to pick alongside Gary Madine - Shayne Lavery or Jerry Yates? Yates made his case last week, coming off the bench to help set up Josh Bowler’s winner.

Here’s our predicted line-up.

“It’s a team we know well from playing against them in League One last season with MK Dons,” Russell Martin said.

“Neil Critchley has done a brilliant job, so it’ll be a difficult game.

“They’re really organised, they make it difficult for you and pose a threat in possession as well. They’ve got a group of players who really buy into the staff and what they’re doing.

“It’s one we’re looking forward to. We’re really close to them in the table and I want to get closer.

“It’s an important game because of the result the other night as well. It’s important to bounce back in a really important way.

“We’re excited about it. It’s a long old journey so we’re training early.”

“They have some fantastic players and have a different way of playing to a lot of teams in the league, it’s quite unique.

“They pose a lot of different challenges for you. Like ourselves, they will want to be looking up the division but it can take a bit of time.

“I really like Russell Martin’s team and the way they play. We know it’s going to be a really tough task for us.

“I’m sure their first-half performance against Fulham gave them a lot of confidence and a lot of belief in what they were doing.

“Every game should be seen in context. Swansea got off to a fantastic start in that game and were the dominant team.

“When you lose any game you always want to bounce back, so a wounded animal is always dangerous.

“Swansea have got the quality that if you don’t respect what they’re good at, they can really hurt you.

“They hurt Fulham early in that game in midweek and they hurt a lot of teams in this division.

“They beat Coventry at home comfortably the other week and we know how good Coventry are, so they’re more than capable of giving you a lot of problems and winning games of football in this division.

“We need to be fully concentrated on our job and do what we’re good at.”