Colin Calderwood’s Nottingham Forest are the opponents for Simon Grayson and his side tomorrow afternoon as they look to bounce back from the mid-week defeat to Reading.
Forest themselves are coming off the back of a 1-0 deficit on Tuesday evening as Sheffield United left the City Ground with all 3 points on that occasion.
Following the games, Forest and ‘Pool lie 23rd and 16th respectively with a ten point gap between the two – Forest on 17 and The Seasiders on 27 points.
Vital Quotes:
Nottingham Forest boss Colin Calderwood;
‘We’ve got to get back to performances at home where we look as though we’re really giving ourselves a better chance of winning.’
‘We came out second best on Tuesday night but we’ve got to roll our sleeves up and go again.’
‘That’s what I want to see – I want to see a body language and attitude that is dominant in the game.’
Blackpool boss Simon Grayson;
‘It will be a different game against Forest than it was against Reading because of where Forest are in the league.’
‘But they have some good players and I think they might be in a false position, so we’ve got to treat it as if it’s a Reading or a Birmingham and go there and put in a good performance and a good result.’
Nottm. Forest Team News:
Lewis McGugan will face a fitness test before the game after failing to come through one prior to the Sheffield United game.
Midfielder Guy Moussi and defender Julian Bennett will both be absent through injury.
Player to watch: Robert Earnshaw
The Wales international is Forest’s top scorer this season with 6 goals to his name (3 in the league, 3 in the Carling Cup).
former Premiership regular, whomever is left with the unenviable task of marking him will have a busy afternoon.
Blackpool Team News:
The Seasiders are without the suspended Lee Hendrie and Ian Evatt while Stephen McPhee and Stephen Crainey will be absent through injury.
David Fox is slated to slot into the centre of midfield alongside Keith Southern, with Shaun Barker reverting to centre back and Alex Baptiste stepping in at right back.
Liam Dickinson will more than likely line up alongside Ben Burgess in attack in an effort to add to his 4 goals.
David Vaughan has shrugged off his calf injury and could make the subs bench, while Daniel Nardiello is also fit and aiming for a call-up, probably at the expense of Alan Gow or Stephen Kabba on the subs bench.
New signing Ian Harte may also be a surprise inclusion into the match-day squad.
Player to watch: Liam Dickinson
It’s hard to not look past the on-loan Derby striker for this. Fully-recovered from his illness that saw him revert to the bench on Tuesday night, he’ll certainly be fired up and looking for his 5th (and maybe even 6th!) goal in Tangerine.
Match Facts & Stats
Going into the game tomorrow, Blackpool are 9 points clear of the relegation zone and just 7 points off the playoff places and so there is certainly everything to play for.
The last time the sides met, incidentally at The City Ground back when both sides were in League One, the fixture ended up with a goal apiece, 1-1.
Overall, Blackpool have 22 wins to their name, compared to Forest’s 28, with 22 draws between the two sides.
Next Fixtures:
Swansea (H) December 20th, 3pm.
