Preston v Blackpool: Derby date could be tight at Deepdale

“PNE have posted seven clean sheets in 13 Championship dates since the end of January”

Preston fall short at Pride Park

Preston manager Ryan Lowe labelled Saturday’s disappointing 1-0 defeat at relegation-threatened Derby as ‘not very good’ after an 81st minute goal from Rams substitute Ravel Morrison settled the game in the home side’s favour. North End had centre-half Liam Lindsay sent-off just after the half-hour mark and never looked like scoring thereafter.

It was the third successive game without a goal for the Lilywhites and the PNE chief admitted that was a worry heading into the derby. Lowe said, “It wasn’t very good, I’m disappointed. The sending-off killed our momentum. But I’m always concerned about goals, I want my sides to be scoring and we haven’t really had clear-cut chances to speak of.”

Despite sitting in mid-table obscurity, Lowe has demanded a reaction for the midweek match. He said, “It is the biggest game of the season since I’ve come in. We can’t go up, we can’t go down, we want to get as many points as we can to finish as high as we can. It’s a massive game for our fans, they want to see a reaction from the last time we played them.”

Blackpool well-beaten by Forest

Blackpool‘s play-off dreams are all but over after the Tangerines were beaten 4-1 at Bloomfield Road by fellow top-six chasers Nottingham Forest. The Seasiders were outclassed in every department in the first half, affording the opposition too much space in dangerous areas to work possession and made to pay by their clinical visitors.

Neil Critchley’s outfit were unable to recover from a 3-0 half-time deficit but the Blackpool boss felt the scoreline was harsh. He said, “I’m disappointed with the result but not the performance. It was a strange game. Every time they got into our penalty area, they scored. We didn’t get any luck in the game, but I felt we more than matched a really good team.”

The Seasiders now turn their attentions to Tuesday with preparations already in place. Critchley added, “We won the first game and I’m sure they’ll be looking to prevent us from winning the second so we’re in on Sunday, we’ll rest and we look forward to the challenge. Meanwhile, Keshi Anderson, Richard Keogh and Chris Maxwell are all available again.

Blackpool were comfortable 2-0 winners when the two teams met in October’s most recent West Lancashire derby showdown. That victory means the Seasiders have suffered a solitary reverse in eight league meetings with Preston dating back two decades (W3-D4-L1). The Tangerines have also returned an impressive W3-D1-L1 from trips to Deepdale since 1996.

Preston 2.0421/20 have improved immeasurably under Ryan Lowe’s tutorship. The former Plymouth coach arrived in early December and has presided over W6-D8-L4 in the Championship, a top-half points per-game return across that sequence. However, the Lilywhites have failed to score in half of their most recent 14 league outings.

Blackpool 3.8514/5 have quite convincingly taken the honours of top promoted club in the Championship this campaign. The Seasiders recovered from a slow transition period and have since tabled W14-D8-L11 across their last 33 outings, a run that began after September’s international break. The guests have W4-D5-L5 on the road in that sample.

Preston’s recent struggles in front of goal have also coincided with the group producing more organised and resolute defensive displays. PNE have posted seven clean sheets in 13 Championship dates since the end of January; combined with the Lilywhites’ below-par conversion rates, Both Teams To Score ‘No’ 1.9210/11 has copped in 10 of their last 14 fixtures.

Blackpool come into this contest having accumulated three clean sheets in their last four outings, and considering the magnitude of the match for both sets of supporters, Tuesday night’s tussle could also follow the same tentative recent trends from the two teams.

Seven of the last nine West Lancashire derby meetings have seen BTTS No backers paid out and I’m happy to back a repeat at an appealing 1.9210/11.