Blackpool will aspire to keep the momentum going from their impressive victory over Peterborough United when they welcome Plymouth Argyle to Bloomfield Road in League One on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts rose into the playoff places with their midweek win, while Plymouth solidified their mid-table standing with a 2-0 triumph over Bristol Rovers last weekend.
Match preview
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Jerry Yates had lost a bit of momentum in front of goal before the visit of Peterborough, but Blackpool's top scorer found his shooting boots at just the right moment to propel the Seasiders to an impressive 3-1 win over their fellow Championship hopefuls on Tuesday evening.
Yates had only managed one goal in his previous six outings before Blackpool's most recent game, but he broke the deadlock inside the first minute at Bloomfield Road before firing home from 12 yards in the 52nd minute, and Luke Garbutt added a third for his side just before the hour mark in front of a delighted Neil Critchley.
Favourable results in midweek saw Blackpool rise into the top six with their win over the Posh, and having played only 34 games this term - boasting two or three games in hand over most of their rivals - the in-form Seasiders are well-placed to make the playoffs this time around.
This week's hosts have now strung together a 10-game unbeaten run in the league and could rise above Doncaster Rovers into fifth if they fail to beat MK Dons, and their current form is all the more impressive given the plethora of injuries Critchley is currently having to deal with.
Furthermore, the Seasiders have not lost on their own turf since being put to the sword by Charlton Athletic back in October - navigating 14 games unbeaten in all competitions at Bloomfield Road since - although their win over Peterborough ended a run of four consecutive draws on familiar territory, so Critchley will hope to see his side kick on against a previously out-of-sorts Plymouth.
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Plymouth manager Ryan Lowe had been forced to witness his side succumb to five straight defeats since the start of the month, but they ensured that they would have something to cheer in March as a relegation-threatened Bristol Rovers were no match for Niall Ennis last Saturday.
The 21-year-old bagged his first league brace of the season before half time to secure a comfortable 2-0 win for Plymouth at Home Park, and Argyle supporters will be hoping that result is the one that turns the corner after an initially promising start to 2021.
Lowe's side only lost one of their first 10 fixtures of the New Year before their fortunes took a turn for the worse at the start of the month, and while that spate of losses saw them slide down the table, they remain 14 points clear of the drop zone and are actually closer to the playoff places than the bottom four.
Plymouth's good start to the year also translated into solid performances on the road, but they travel to Bloomfield Road having lost four in a row on unfamiliar territory this month - shipping at least two goals in three of those defeats - but no matter how many points they can pick up this weekend, it is unlikely to make a huge difference to their standing at the end of the season.
However, Plymouth did manage to overcome Blackpool 1-0 earlier in the season thanks to Luke Jephcott's third-minute goal, while the last two games between the sides at Bloomfield Road have ended with the spoils shared in a four-goal thriller.
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Team News
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Arsenal loanee Dan Ballard has linked up with the Northern Ireland squad for their World Cup qualifiers, and James Husband remains injured, but Daniel Gretarsson returned to the bench at the weekend after the birth of his child.
Hero of the hour Yates suffered a dead leg in midweek but could shake it off in time to feature, while Elliot Embleton was hauled off with cramp, but Critchley does not expect the playmaker to sit this one out.
Gary Madine, Keshi Anderson, CJ Hamilton, Marvin Ekpiteta, Matty Virtue and Kevin Stewart continue to nurse injuries, and none of them is expected to come back just yet.
Plymouth will be without defender Jerome Opoku due to an accumulation of yellow cards, but Kelland Watts could make a timely return from injury to fill in against Blackpool.
The injury-plagued Lewis Macleod is also expected to come back into the fold, but George Cooper and Gary Sawyer are out, while Jephcott should be available despite his exploits for the Wales Under-21s team.
Whether Lowe is ready to throw the 21-year-old straight back into the starting lineup remains to be seen, so that could leave the door open for Ryan Hardie to show his former side what they are missing this weekend.
Blackpool possible starting lineup:
Maxwell; Lawrence-Gabriel, Turton, Thorniley, Garbutt; Ward, Dougall; Mitchell, Embleton, Kaikai; Yates
Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Cooper; Edwards, Watts, Aimson, Lewis; Camara, Macleod, Grant, Mayor; Ennis, Hardie
We say: Blackpool 2-1 Plymouth Argyle
Even though both sides enjoyed morale-boosting wins last time out, it is simply impossible to look past Blackpool's record at home. Even with so many first-teamers out injured, Critchley's men have not taken their foot off the gas and will be firmly in contention for a top-two finish if they can make their games in hand count, so we expect the hosts to continue their excellent form at Bloomfield Road with another victory.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Blackpool win with a probability of 52.09%. A draw had a probability of 24.9% and a win for Plymouth Argyle had a probability of 22.97%.
The most likely scoreline for a Blackpool win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.12%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.75%) and 2-1 (9.52%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.84%), while for a Plymouth Argyle win it was 0-1 (7.37%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 4.7% likelihood.
