Preview: Blackpool vs. Norwich City - prediction, team news, lineups

At a time when the Canaries are in second position in the standings, Blackpool head into Saturday's fixture sitting in 19th spot after losing three of their last four games.

Match preview

Despite their superior quality in comparison to the rest of the division, Dean Smith and his Norwich side deserve huge credit for the level of their turnaround.

After starting the season with three games without success, the Canaries have recorded 19 points from a possible 21, their only draw coming last time out against West Bromwich Albion.

Although Smith would have been disappointed to only earn a share of the spoils against an out-of-form side, it kept their points tally ticking over and the club in close proximity to leaders Sheffield United.

Norwich now face a run of three away games in their next four outings, and their only defeats of the season have come away from Carrow Road.

However, the last of those was back on August 13, with Norwich having defeated Birmingham City and Sunderland since that 2-1 reverse at Hull City.

From Blackpool's perspective, a promising start has descended into a worrying spell of form with just three points coming from their four most recent outings.

That solitary success came at struggling Huddersfield Town, but setbacks have since followed at Rotherham United and Millwall respectively.

Nevertheless, it should be noted that Michael Appleton's team have not played a home fixture since August 31, the Seasiders having participated in two more fixtures on the road than on familiar territory.

Blackpool head into this encounter having netted just twice in four games, that form coming after previously recording successive 3-3 draws with Burnley and Bristol City respectively.

Blackpool Championship form:

D

D

L

W

L

L

Norwich City Championship form:

W

W

W

W

W

D

Norwich City form (all competitions):

L

W

W

W

W

D

Team News

Appleton is likely to make changes to his Blackpool side with Shayne Lavery potentially dropping out to hand a chance to either Ian Poveda-Ocampo or CJ Hamilton.

Rhys Williams may also be considered for a return in place of James Husband, who made his first Championship start of the season last time out.

Smith tinkered with his tactics for the West Brom game, taking Todd Cantwell out of the side and moving Aaron Ramsey to the left.

The move did not entirely work out, and Cantwell could be restored to the flank with Ramsey reverting back to a role in the centre of midfield.

Having been replaced at the 75-minute mark in each of Finland's two recent fixtures, Teemu Pukki should retain his spot in attack, while Josh Sargent will be assessed after international duty with the United States.

Blackpool possible starting lineup:

Grimshaw; Ekpiteta, Thorniley, Williams; Connolly, Dougall, Patino, Thompson; Poveda-Ocampo, Yates, Corbeanu

Norwich City possible starting lineup:

Krul; Aarons, Omobamidele, Hanley, Byram; Nunez, McLean, Ramsey; Sargent, Pukki, Cantwell

We say: Blackpool 1-2 Norwich City

Given the players that spent the international break away from the club, Norwich may not necessarily be firing on all cylinders in the North-West. Nevertheless, we feel that the Canaries should still have enough quality to edge this game, potentially through a contribution from the substitutes' bench.

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