Blackpool's task: a lost cause?

It is saying something when even your manager says that a team needs "a miracle" to stay up. But that is precisely the situation that Lee Clark finds himself in having slumped even further with four defeats in their last five and an unwanted goal against column of 70 which is likely to added to at Dean Court if the earlier meetings of the two teams is anything to go by. So what does Lee Clark do with his side with games running out and 17 points off safety with just 10 games remaining?

Blackpool supporters I am sure want to see their team play with pride and to do everything they can to hold out against the Championship's leading side. Top versus bottom matches can sometimes through up surprises, but I don't think the bookies will have anything but very long odds on a Blackpool win on Saturday. You might expect Blackpool's player to play almost without pressure now as everyone expects them to be playing in League One next season, so they have a chance to see if they can improve confidence by competing and attempting to keep a clean sheet at Dean Court.  I expect corner kicks and free kicks will be what Lee Clark feels will be the best chance of his side posing a threat, but AFCB will surely be told to try and deny those kinds of opportunities as much as possible.

Blackpool players at Dean Court last season.

It's going to be tough for them, but they showed against Nottingham Forest a few weeks ago that they can score and scrap for points. They just have not done that often enough this season and the away record is very sorry reading with no wins and just six points from draws earned all season. The really shocking result they had was when visiting Watford on the road when they were 0-2 up at half time and conceded seven goals in the second half. Blackpool have only lost their last two games to Birmingham and Sheffield Wednesday by a single goal so there are signs of improvement. Lee Clark is looking to the future though as you'll see in this video pre-Sheffield Wednesday match.

Where are their goals going to come from? I am struggling to see to be honest. Nathan Delfouneso is their leading scorer on three goals and he last scored against guess who? Yep, Bournemouth back on 20th December. One player who has scored a couple of goals for the Tangerines since the start of the year is Gary Madine who is probably Blackpool's most inform player although he was unavailable against Sheffield Wednesday last time out, but Andrea Orlandi, who had plenty of championship experience at Brighton, has also shown that he can get forward and pose a problem for defences at times along with ex-Pompey player Jamie O'Hara who has always been one for a spectacular goal, but has an ankle problem that might keep him out. I'll look at what other options Lee Clark has in this afternoon's article.

Blackpool Away Form
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AFCB Home Form
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Well done to Artur Boruc who has been called up for Poland's Euro 2016 qualifier and should get his 60th cap to put him into their Hall of Fame.