Blackpool play host to Derby County on Saturday afternoon aware that claiming another victory at Bloomfield Road could take them into the top half of the Championship standings.
Meanwhile, the already-relegated Rams head into this contest playing for just pride and looking to avoid finishing in bottom position of the table.
Match preview
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Whatever happens during the final two matches of the season, Blackpool will be delighted with their efforts, the pre-season relegation favourites already guaranteed a top-16 position.
Nevertheless, Neil Critchley's side only sit three points adrift of 10th spot, and that will remain the motivation heading into games with Derby and Peterborough United.
As a result of the scrap higher up the table, recognition for Blackpool's results has been minimal, but reaching the 60-point mark at this stage is one of the most notable achievements in the EFL this campaign.
Blackpool also look determined to end with a flourish, posting seven points from their last three fixtures with the most recent of their nine goals during that period coming in Tuesday's 2-0 win at Barnsley.
In Owen Dale and Oliver Casey, the goals came from unlikely sources, and both players will want to make a further impact in their respective positions with next season's squad in mind.
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From Derby's perspective, their season has the potential to peter out now that an intense fight to retain their Championship status has ended in failure.
Wayne Rooney would have had every expectation that his Rams squad would have continued to perform to their best level when Bristol City were the visitors to Pride Park last weekend.
However, the East Midlands outfit were defeated 3-1 by one of the division's under-performing sides, highlighting that thoughts may have already turned to 2022-23.
On a human level, that is perfectly understandable, particularly when a takeover is still yet to be made official, but Rooney will demand at least one positive result from the game on Saturday or at home to Cardiff City next weekend to provide some optimism for the future.
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Team News
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Providing that he suffered no ill-effects to a rare 84 minutes on the pitch, Casey should retain his place in the centre of the Blackpool defence.
CJ Hamilton and Jerry Yates are both pushing for recalls to the side, but Critchley could be prepared to stick with the same starting lineup.
Derby will remain without Tom Lawrence, who serves the second of a two-game suspension for his dismissal at Queens Park Rangers.
While Rooney will naturally be looking ahead to next season, changes to his Derby XI are a possibility with Luke Plange potentially getting the nod ahead of Bartosz Cybulski in attack.
Louie Sibley may replace Louie Watson on the left-hand side of midfield, while youngster Eiran Cashin could return at centre-back after being handed a rest for the Bristol City game.
Blackpool possible starting lineup:
Maxwell; Connolly, Ekpiteta, Casey, Husband; Dale, Virtue, Dougall, Kirk; Beesley, Lavery
Derby County possible starting lineup:
Allsop; Byrne, Cashin, Davies, Forsyth; Thompson, Bird; Ebiowei, Morrison, Sibley; Plange
We say: Blackpool 2-1 Derby County
Given Derby's abysmal away record, Blackpool will fancy their chances of running riot at the weekend. While that may not materialise, we still expect the Tangerines to claim all three points, potentially benefitting from a fast start.
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 57.25%. A draw had a probability of 22.6% and a win for Derby County had a probability of 20.16%.
The most likely scoreline for a Blackpool win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.68%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.9%) and 2-0 (9.88%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.7%), while for a Derby County win it was 0-1 (5.78%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 2.9% likelihood.
