Preview: Blackpool vs. Cheltenham Town - prediction, team news, lineups

However, the visitors will be buoyant after finally securing their first league victory of the campaign in their last match.

Match preview

Likewise, Blackpool would have been delighted to claim a 1-1 draw away to high-flying Oxford United on Saturday, with Jordan Rhodes' injury time strike rescuing a point for his side.

The 33-year-old is clearly enjoying himself after dropping down to the third tier for the first time in over a decade, with his latest finish making it eight goals in eight league starts since joining the Tangerines on loan from Huddersfield Town towards the end of August.

After blanking in four of their opening five games of the season, when Rhodes did not feature in their starting line-up, the former Blackburn Rovers striker's goals have clearly made a pivotal impact in terms of improving results on the Lancashrie coast.

However, Neil Critchley's side are still sitting just outside the play-off spots, but securing a fourth win in five home games on Tuesday could change that.

Cheltenham, meanwhile, continue to prop up the rest of the division, but there are signs that they are turning a corner under the tutelage of Darrell Clarke having collected four points from their last two games.

The Robins made an unfathomably poor start to the campaign, losing 10 of their opening 11 matches without scoring a single goal in any of them, leading to Wade Elliott inevitably being sacked towards the end of September.

After securing their highest ever finish in the English football pyramid when coming 15th under Michael Duff in the 2021-22 campaign, Elliott had done well to stabilise results during his first season at the club, securing a respectable 16th-placed finish last time out.

However, they were only heading in one direction under him this time around, and there is still a long way for them to go for them to escape from danger despite Liam Sercombe's early goal against Cambridge United finally ending their winless run on Saturday.

Having failed to score in any of their six away trips in League One so far this season, that is a clear area of improvement for them to make when they face Blackpool in midweek.

Blackpool League One form:

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Blackpool form (all competitions):

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Cheltenham Town League One form:

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Cheltenham Town form (all competitions):

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Team News

With his side facing Peterborough United on Saturday, Critchley may be considering making a few changes for this match given the short turnaround between fixtures.

Callum Connolly will be hoping to be involved after being an unused substitute against Oxford last time out, with the 26-year-old able to slot into any midfield role within reason.

Cheltenham, on the other hand, could name an unchanged starting XI after finally claiming their first league win of the season against Cambridge last time out.

As such, the likes of Elliot Bonds and George Lloyd may have to settle for being used from the bench once again, with Clarke unlikely to want to tamper with a winning formula.

Blackpool possible starting lineup:

Grimshaw; Pennington, Casey, Husband; Connolly, Morgan, Dougall, Carey, Hamilton; Rhodes, Lavery

Cheltenham Town possible starting lineup:

Southwood; Long, Bradbury, Freestone; Smith, Olayinka, Thompson, Sercombe, Ferry; Goodwin, Street

We say: Blackpool 1-0 Cheltenham Town

Cheltenham's confidence will be significantly boosted by their last two results, but they are yet to prove they can compete under the road having blanked in all six league outings this season.

Blackpool are not exactly full of goals themselves under Critchley, but with Rhodes doing his best to change that, we expect them to narrowly get the job done on Tuesday.

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