Michael Appleton provides James Husband injury update after Blackpool's shambolic defeat to Middlesbrough
and live on Freeview channel 276
Fellow strugglers Middlesbrough provide the opposition.
Follow our blog for build-up, team news, live match updates and post-match reaction.
Blackpool v Middlesbrough - live updates
Key Events
- FT: Blackpool 0-3 Middlesbrough
- Doubts over FOURTEEN first-team players
- Seasiders desperate to avoid third straight defeat
Good evening
And welcome to tonight’s live blog.
Blackpool are back at Bloomfield Road for the second time in four days as they look to put Saturday’s disappointment against Luton Town behind them.
Fellow strugglers Middlesbrough provide the opposition.
Follow our blog for build-up, team news, live match updates and post-match reaction.
Match preview
Blackpool will be looking to end their midweek hoodoo when they take on Middlesbrough tonight.
The Seasiders have won just one of their seven midweek games so far this season in league and cup, losing four.
It would be the perfect time for Michael Appleton’s side to end the run as they look to get back to winning ways after suffering back-to-back defeats against West Brom and Luton Town.
Pool, depleted by both injuries and illness, take on a Middlesbrough side that sit in 20th place, one point below them in the league table.
Since coming in, new boss Michael Carrick has claimed four points from his first three games in charge.
Jeremy Simpson is the man in the middle tonight, James Wilson and Matthew Smith are linesmen while Adam Herczeg is on fourth official duties.
Simpson has officiated 12 games this season, dishing out 54 yellow cards but no reds. He took charge of Blackpool’s 3-3 draw with Bristol City and the stalemate against Sunderland.
Team news
Where to start?!
Blackpool are still sweating over the availability of 14 first-team players as illness and injuries continue to sweep through Michael Appleton’s squad.
Callum Connolly will definitely miss the game through suspension after picking up his fifth booking of the season on Saturday.
Jordan Thorniley (concussion), Jordan Gabriel (knee), Kevin Stewart (metatarsal), Liam Bridcutt (hamstring), Lewis Fiorini (hamstring), Keshi Anderson (hamstring) and Jake Beesley (fractured foot) will also miss out.
Stuart Moore, Rhys Williams, Charlie Patino, Sonny Carey, Ian Poveda and Shayne Lavery have all been suffering with a sickness bug.
While those who have come down with a bug might be able to feature, the chances of them remaining 100% fit are highly unlikely.
As we saw with Patino on Saturday, he was able to start the game but had to be hooked off at half-time complaining of a lack of energy.
Michael Appleton’s pre-match comments
“They’ve changed shape a little bit since he’s taken over, because they’ve gone with a four in recent weeks.
“We’re potentially having a look at that and thinking they might stick with the same, but we’re prepared if they go back to a back three.
“They’ve done alright, they’ve done what you would expect when a new manager goes in. There’s been an uplift.
“They beat Hull and they’ve picked up a couple of decent points since, so it’s going to be a tough fixture.
“They’ve got a lot of quality players in a squad people expected to be in and around the top six. Like this division can do to you, if you get on a good run there’s no reason with the quality of players they’ve got they can’t do that.
“But as it stands at this moment in time their first focus is to pull away from the bottom three and we’ve got an opportunity to stop them doing that.”
Opposition view
“We do focus on ourselves a lot, but we definitely respect the opposition we play,” Boro boss Michael Carrick said.
“We talk about and work on problems they might potentially cause us and things we want to stop, so of course we don’t disregard that by any stretch.
“But right now there’s a big focus on us, especially with it being so early working together.
“We’re looking forward to the game and yes, there will be tweaks from where we go game to game, but after a performance like we had on Saturday (against Bristol City) you want to build on it.
“Blackpool will be a threat to us, they put bodies in the box so we will have to defend well. They’re clever around the box and they get crosses in, so we’ve got to defend well as a team, not just as a back four.
“In this league, everyone has threats.”
How will the Seasiders line up?
There continues to be question marks over 14 first-team players at this moment in time, with injuries and illness continuing to ravage Michael Appleton’s squad.
With that in mind, it makes it extremely challenging to accurately predict Blackpool’s starting line-up given the uncertainty over so many players who are carrying a bug.