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

Exeter secured an impressive 3-0 win away to Wycombe Wanderers, while Blackpool dispatched Burton Albion 2-0 at home.

Match preview

Having finally escaped from League Two in their 10th consecutive season in the Football League's bottom tier, Exeter never looked in any danger at all of falling back into that division when finishing 14th last season.

Despite losing their manager Matt Taylor to Rotherham United last October, Gary Caldwell performed reasonably well overall, winning 10 of 33 matches in all competitions to ensure the Grecians comfortably ended up in lower mid-table.

Few people would have foreseen them beating Wycombe 3-0 away from home given that their opponents have been one of the stronger teams in the third tier across recent seasons, while they secured safe passage to the second round of the EFL Cup with a 2-1 win against Crawley Town on Tuesday.

As such, Caldwell's side will head into their fixture against Blackpool at St James Park this weekend with plenty of confidence of securing a positive result, although they are likely to be pushed much harder than in their opening two games of the season.

Blackpool, on the other hand, were relegated from the Championship in disappointing fashion last season, with Michael Appleton, Mick McCarthy and Stephen Dobbie all powerless to prevent the Tangerines from sliding into the third tier.

However, they head into the new campaign with renewed confidence after tempting Neil Critchley into returning for a second spell in charge of the club. The former Liverpool Under-23s boss chose to jump ship to Queens Park Rangers after guiding Blackpool to promotion from League One before comfortably steering them to safety in the Championship, but things did not work out for the 44-year-old in West London.

Despite losing star striker Jerry Yates to Swansea City during the summer transfer window, Critchley will have his eyes firmly set on securing a play-off spot at worst this season, in a division that looks weaker than last time around after the promotions of big fish such as Ipswich Town and Sheffield Wednesday.

Like their forthcoming opponents, Blackpool have began the campaign in excellent fashion with two wins from two, with Burton comfortably beaten at Bloomfield Road before another even more impressive 2-0 victory away to Derby County in midweek saw them advance into the second round of the EFL Cup. Based on current form, Exeter could find them tough to stop on Saturday.

Exeter City League One form:

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Exeter City form (all competitions):

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Blackpool League One form:

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Blackpool form (all competitions):

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Team News

Exeter have been boosted by the return of Kyle Taylor in recent weeks, with the midfielder recovering from a fractured ankle to appear from the bench during his side's opening two games. However, the 23-year-old is likely to continue to be eased into things.

In truth, it would be surprising if Caldwell made any alterations to the team that surprisingly swatted Wycombe aside with such ease last weekend, meaning Sam Nombe should lead the line in a central position.

Likewise, Critchley may name the same starting XI that defeated Burton in their opening match in League One, meaning Shayne Lavery will lead the line after bagging both goals during the victory.

Tom Trybull is expected to be ruled out once again due to a hamstring injury, with Ollie Norburn set to anchor the midfield at the expense of Kenny Dougall.

Exeter City possible starting lineup:

Sinisalo; Sweeney, Aimson, Hartridge; Rankine, Carroll, Trevitt, Jules; Aitchison, Nombe, Mitchell

Blackpool possible starting lineup:

Grimshaw; Pennington, Ekpiteta, Husband; Hamilton, Morgan, Norburn, Carey, Connolly; Lavery, Beesley

We say: Exeter City 1-2 Blackpool

Both sides should be full of confidence after winning both of their opening matches of the season, but Blackpool carry more pedigree than Exeter having been relegated from the Championship last season.

They appear to have found able replacements for Yates in the form of Lavery and Jake Beesley, who have both bagged braces in Critchley's first two matches back at the helm. Their greater goal threat could give them the edge on Saturday in what should be an entertaining encounter.

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