Burton Albion manager Dino Maamria looks ahead to Blackpool trip and provides injury update

Burton Albion boss Dino Maamria has said his side are in a good place ahead of their trip to Blackpool this weekend. The Seasiders lock horns with a Brewers side who finished 15th in the League One table last season.

Neil Critchley will be eager to see his side start the new 2023/24 campaign with a win in front of their own fans at Bloomfield Road. However, their visitors are out to spoil their day.

Blackpool’s upcoming opponents have had a busy summer with both incomings and outgoings at the Pirelli Stadium. Their boss Maamria, who has been at Stevenage and Oldham Athletic in the past, believes his team are ready and he has told their club website: “The group understand my expectations, the new players have come into a new environment, but I feel like we’ve kept a good core of the squad from last season.

“We’re in a good place in-terms of the squad, the new players gelling and the players are integrating well. One thing that will never change about us is we go into game full of confidence and belief in what we’re doing.

“Our focus will always be about us, it doesn’t matter about the opposition and we’re in a good place to go to Blackpool and put in a good performance.”

Burton will be without attacker Josh Walker on Saturday: “Josh pulled something in his hip, it’s a freak injury because he played a full 90 minutes against Belper of Wednesday then trained on Thursday and Friday.

“Then on Saturday against Scunthorpe he pulled up in the warm-up, so it looks like he’s going to be out for four to five weeks.”

The Brewers have signed Mason Bennett, Rakeem Harper, Ryan Sweeney, Josh Gordon, Jamal Blackman, Jake Caprice, Jasper Moon, Steve Seddon and Cole Stockton in this window to bolster their squad. Terry Taylor, Craig MacGillivray, Jonny Smith and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson have also left the club as they prepare to face Blackpool.