Preview: Blackpool vs. Portsmouth - prediction, team news, lineups

Pompey are currently sitting top of the standings, while the playoff-chasing hosts will begin the weekend in eighth position.

Match preview

Blackpool will head into Saturday's contest off the back of an encouraging run of form after winning three of their last four league matches.

The Tangerines saw consecutive victories followed by a narrow 1-0 defeat to Leyton Orient, before they returned to winning ways in last Saturday's away meeting with Shrewsbury Town.

Karamoko Dembele and Hayden Coulson both grabbed a goal apiece to clinch a 2-0 victory and close the gap to the top six to four points.

While the Tangerines will face a tough test this weekend, they will certainly take encouragement from the fact they are just one of four teams to have beaten Portsmouth in the league this season after they ran out 4-0 winners in November's reverse fixture.

Neil Critchley's side have also proven to be a tough team to beat at Bloomfield Road, having won five and drawn two of their last seven home league matches.

Portsmouth, meanwhile, currently enjoys a sizeable six-point cushion over second-placed Bolton Wanderers, while they are seven points clear of Derby County in third position.

John Mousinho's side have won seven and drawn two of their last nine league matches since losing to Leyton Orient in the middle of January.

In their most recent outing, Pompey edged out Oxford via a 2-1 scoreline thanks to efforts from Callum Lang and Christian Saydee.

After claiming a fourth consecutive home win, Portsmouth will turn their attention to Saturday's away trip, where they will be looking to produce another strong defensive display after keeping four clean sheets in a five-game unbeaten away run (W3, D2).

Having failed to win their last five head-to-head meetings (D1, L4), Pompey are hoping to beat Blackpool for the first time since August 2018.

Blackpool League One form:

D

L

W

W

L

W

Blackpool form (all competitions):

L

W

L

W

L

W

Portsmouth League One form:

W

W

W

W

D

W

Team News

Blackpool wing-back has been ruled out for the rest of the season after he sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury in the defeat to Leyton Orient at the end of last month.

Albie Morgan picked up a knee injury in the same match, and he is expected to be out of action for the next few weeks.

In more positive news, Blackpool's top scorer Jordan Rhodes returned from injury to feature as a substitute in the win over Shrewsbury, and the forward is now in contention to start Saturday's game against the league leaders.

As for the visitors, they are still unable to call upon the defensive trio of Zach Swanson, Tom McIntyre and Regan Poole.

Their lengthy absentee list also includes Alex Robertson, Joe Morrell, Tom Lowery, Ben Stevenson, Terry Devlin and Tino Anjorin.

Midfielder Owen Moxon could be recalled to the starting lineup after he lost his place in the side for the recent home win over Oxford.

Blackpool possible starting lineup:

Grimshaw; Pennington, Ekpiteta, Husband; Hamilton, Dembele, Byers, Norburn, Coulson; Rhodes, Beesley

Portsmouth possible starting lineup:

Norris; Rafferty, Raggett, Shaughnessy, Ogilvie; Pack, Moxon; Kamara, Lang, Lane; Bishop

We say: Blackpool 1-1 Portsmouth

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