The Steve Bruce era is firmly up and running on the seaside, as he looks to continue his fine start as Blackpool boss on Saturday when his side welcome Burton Albion to Bloomfield Road in League One.
The visitors meanwhile have endured a miserable start to the season as they are winless from their opening six games, with four draws and two defeats seeing them languishing in 22nd in the table.
Match preview
It has been some resurgence under new manager Bruce for the Tangerines, as they have won all three league games since the experienced manager took charge of the club just two weeks ago.
Starting off with a dramatic 2-1 win over Exeter City in the last seconds, Bruce's side then visited Nathan Jones's in-form Charlton Athletic and won by the same score, and on Tuesday evening the Tangerines were so impressive as they won 2-0 away at Huddersfield Town.
Goals from Kyle Joseph and CJ Hamilton saw Blackpool go into half time 2-0 up, with the second half being more controlled as they were able to see off their hosts with relative comfort.
Now unbeaten in five league games, Blackpool have skyrocketed up to ninth in the table and they sit level on points with the likes of Peterborough United and Lincoln City, and while this is still something of a honeymoon period for Bruce, Blackpool's squad depth and quality could see them sustain a promotion push this season.
They would need to sort out their leaky defence if this is to be the case though, as Blackpool have the joint-worst defence in the league having conceded 13 goals in seven games, but having also scored 13 themselves, they do have plenty of firepower in their ranks.
With the likes of Joseph, Ashley Fletcher, Jordan Rhodes and Hamilton, the Tangerines have the perfect blend of attacking quality and experience that make them a tricky outfit for any side to face.
Burton Albion meanwhile have made a sluggish start to their campaign to say the least, and they travel to Blackpool on a run of four draws and two defeats from their opening six League One fixtures, with their most recent result being a 2-1 defeat at home to Barnsley.
Luca Connell had opened the scoring for the away side before Jack Cooper-Love's late equaliser had Brewers fans looking at a fifth consecutive league draw, until Stephen Humphry's strike in added time left Burton empty-handed.
Their cup form has not seen them fare much better either, as Burton also lost 2-1 at home in the EFL Trophy to Notts County on Tuesday evening, when Ben Whitfield's late consolation was not enough to cancel out the two-goal lead given to the League Two side by Kellan Gordon and Sam Austin.
While Burton fans will have been expecting a relegation battle this season, the early signs do not look great for a side that has been in League One since 2018, and having narrowly avoided relegation last season with 46 points from as many games, it does appear as though the 2024-25 season is going to be a case of the same old struggles.
It has been a baptism of fire for head coach Mark Robinson, who joined the Brewers back in June, and before taking on this role he had spent 17 years as AFC Wimbledon's youth coach before becoming their manager from January 2021 to March 2022.
After his dismissal at Wimbledon, Robinson became the head coach of Chelsea Under-21s in May 2022 in a successful spell that saw his side go five months unbeaten and which also saw the first team progression of the likes of Omari Hutchinson and Lewis Hall, but things have certainly been much trickier in his formative months in charge of the Brewers.
Team News
Blackpool were dealt a fresh injury blow in the last week after captain James Husband picked up a calf injury in last weekend's victory away at Charlton, so Hayden Coulson is expected to keep his place at left-back on Saturday.
Husband joins Ollie Norburn and Elkan Baggott on the sidelines, and Jordan Gabriel is also a doubt after injuring his ankle in last weekend's win.
Meanwhile for Burton, Robinson made 11 changes for their midweek cup defeat against Notts County, so his team should resemble something more along the lines of the one that lined up against Barnsley last weekend.
Billy Boden and Mason Bennett are still missing for the Brewers for this weekend's game, and they join Geraldo Bajrami, Charlie Webster and Jack Hazlehurst on the sidelines.
Blackpool possible starting lineup:
Tyrer; Lawrence-Gabriel, Offiah, Casey, Coulson; Apter, Evans, Morgan, Hamilton; Joseph, Ballard
Burton Albion possible starting lineup:
Isted; Bannon, Sraha, Williams; Akoto, Gilligan, Bran, Kalinauskas; Donovan, Burrell, Larsson
We say: Blackpool 2-0 Burton Albion
It is hard to look beyond a Blackpool side that is revitalised under their new manager, and the fact they will be playing on home soil against a side that is low on confidence means that this game represents a great opportunity to not only win but to also keep a clean sheet in the process.
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