Blackpool v Bristol City: Team news, predicted line-up and pre-match quotes from Neil Critchley

Neil Critchley’s side have yet to be beaten in the Championship so far this year, having kept that record intact against league leaders Fulham last weekend.

The man that scored Blackpool’s goal at Craven Cottage - Josh Bowler - remains with the club despite the strong interest on deadline day.

The Seasiders sit in 15th, eight points adrift of the play-off spots with a game in hand still to play.

Saturday’s opponents Bristol City sit one place below Blackpool in the league table, three points behind having played a game more.

Nigel Pearson’s side, who Blackpool held to a 1-1 draw in the opening game of the season, drew 2-2 with Preston at Deepdale in their last outing.

James Linington, who has yet to officiate a Blackpool game this season, is the man in charge on Saturday.

Team news

Blackpool’s left-back woes have been eased slightly with the return of Reece James to full training.

The Seasiders have been without a recognised player in that position for their last two games.

Luke Garbutt became the latest player to be sidelined with his second knee injury of the season, joining James and James Husband, who were already out.

But James is now back in contention having recovered from a hamstring injury, a setback he suffered in mid-December.

Right-back Dujon Sterling filled in on the left last week at Fulham, albeit as a wing-back as Neil Critchley opted to start the game in a 5-4-1 system.

While a decision has yet to be made on James’ availability, it’s a big bonus for the Seasiders to have him back in contention.

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

As for Kevin Stewart, it’s yet to be seen whether the midfielder will be available to face the Robins as he was only due to fly back into the country on Friday.

The 28-year-old has been away on international duty with Jamaica, making two sub appearances for his first action since returning from an ankle injury.

January recruit Charlie Kirk will be looking to make his Blackpool debut having been an unused substitute at Craven Cottage last weekend.

Neil Critchley’s pre-match comments

“When we played the Bristol City game on the first day of the season and we came away with a point, that gave us real encouragement because on the day we felt we were well in the game against a well-established Championship club. We were deserving of a point.

“While it was only the first game of the season, it gave us optimism that we could go there and compete, so we knew it should give us encouragement for what lies ahead and that’s proven to be the case.

“But as ever, we’re greedy and we want more and we want to improve on where we are at this moment in time.

“Bristol City played very well at Preston last week (drawing 2-2) and Preston are doing very well themselves at the moment. That sums up the Championship.

“Bristol City are well capable of beating any team in this division and, like us, they’re probably always striving for that consistency.

“There’s no doubting they’ve got a very experienced manager, they’ve got some experienced players for the level and they carry a big threat so we know we’re in for an extremely tough game.

“We’re in decent form and we can take a lot of heart from our performance at Fulham and our two home wins, so we’re on a mini run and we want to keep that going on Saturday if we can.”

Opposition view

“Neil Critchley is obviously doing a good job,” manager Nigel Pearson said.

“They’re a side that know what they are. They have an identity, they generally try and play their own way and their own system, although they’ve changed it a bit recently.

“Fair play though. It’s not easy to get a positive result at Fulham, so we expect it to be a tough game.”

Pool’s predicted line-up (442): Grimshaw, Gabriel, Ekpiteta, Keogh, Sterling, Connolly, Dougall, Bowler, Hamilton, Lavery, Madine

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