Two sides level on points in the Championship playoff places met at the newly-named iPro Stadium as Derby County hosted Blackpool.
The Rams were on a run of four straight victories and made it five as Blackpool unravelled spectacularly in the second half by conceding five goals and having two men sent off after holding a 1-0 half-time lead.
Read how it all unfolded in our minute-by-minute updates below.
Morning folks! The first kickoff of the day comes in the East Midlands as Derby host Blackpool. Let's get straight to the teams...
DERBY XI: Grant; Wisdom, Keogh, Buxton, Forsyth; Eustace, Bryson, Hughes; Ward, Dawkins; Martin
DERBY SUBS: Legzdins, Bennett, Russell, Sammon, Cisse, Keane, Hendrick
BLACKPOOL XI: Gilks; Bishop, Basham, Robinson, Blackett; Ferguson, Gosling, Osbourne; Dobbie, Ince; Davies
BLACKPOOL SUBS: Warner, Angel, Grant, Chopra, Delfouneso, Eccleston, Barkhuizen
Derby go with the same lineup that scraped past 10-man Middlesbrough on Wednesday while Blackpool manager Paul Ince makes three changes.
As mentioned above, Ince is forced into the changes after watching Gary MacKenzie, Kirk Broadfoot and Ricardo Fuller all see red in the midweek defeat at Yeovil Town. The trio are replaced by Tyler Blackett, Barry Ferguson and Steve Davies.
Ince was absolutely furious with the three who were dismissed that he has disciplined them. Read more here.
Derby's recent surge up the table now sees them as the leading chaser to the three pacesetters of Leicester, QPR and Burnley. Even victory today won't take them into the top three as they are five points behind Burnley and seven adrift of Leicester and QPR. Click here for the table ahead of what is a full house of fixtures today.
Derby's four wins on the bounces sees them at the top of our Championship form guide with 13 points out of a possible 18. Blackpool are 14th with eight points from their last six.
REFEREE WATCH: The man with the whistle today is Andy Haines, who has already given out five red cards in games that he's been in charge of this season. Watch out Blackpool!
Less than 10 minutes until kickoff at the newly-named iPro Stadium. Let me just point you in the direction of our coverage of the early kickoff in the Premier League between Manchester United and Newcastle United. Robin van Persie is back for the hosts and you can follow Jack Prescott's live coverage by clicking here.
PREDICTION TIME! The teams are ready and waiting in the tunnel. Before we get underway I best make my prediction. I can't look past Derby with their firing attack against Blackpool's makeshift defence. 3-0 to the hosts.
Ince admitted to Sky Sports in his pre-match interview that he was hoping his defence would cope with Derby's attack. Jack Robinson, a left-back on loan from Liverpool, is in at centre-back after first-choices Broadfoot and MacKenzie were both sent off at Yeovil.
KICKOFF! The Rams get us underway after a minute's applause to celebrate the life of recently-passed former South African leader Nelson Mandela.
GOAL! DERBY 0-1 BLACKPOOL (OSBOURNE)
Well, that's my 3-0 pre-game prediction gone! The Tangerines win a free kick out on the right touchline that Ince swings over for Osbourne to brilliantly flick over Derby keeper Grant and into the far corner.
Even though the Blackpool fans were going wild, you could really sense the shock felt by the home support. I was expecting a limp Blackpool display but that early goal should certainly make this a more interesting game.
It's becoming common for a lot of managers in this division to ditch the dugout and get a better view from the stands. Both McClaren and Ince are perched high above the pitch and relaying instructions to their assistants on the touchline.
Derby have their first shot on target as Dawkins makes a clever inside run from the left. Forsyth finds him but the Spurs loanee can't get a good shot off as it's blocked and balloons up to make it an easy catch for Gilks.
Martin goes over Basham's outstretched leg to give Derby a free kick 20 yards out. Just right of centre. Hughes and Bryson stand over it...
Bryson runs over it and Hughes's effort is poor as he gets the ball over the wall but a good few yards wide.
As expected, Derby have dominated the ball since going behind to that early goal but they're yet to really test Gilks. They just had a free kick in a good position left of the area but Bryson's ball in was well defended by the men in orange.
Excellent low cross from the left by Forsyth that looks perfect for Martin until Robinson gets to the ball first. Brilliant defending.
Derby's full-backs are getting forward whenever they can and this time it's Wisdom from the right who delivers an excellent cross. Dawkins meets it and his header is flying goalwards when it hits Basham. Blackpool looking more and more frail.
Back to Forysth for the cross as he picks out Ward unmarked at the back post. The little forward tries to head back across goal but Robinson is there to clear.
Not a great turnout by the Tangerine fans:
Hughes breaks through the Blackpool midfield then lays it to Dawkins whose snap-shot on the turn rises well over the crossbar. The Rams are doing everything right in the first two thirds but have lacked a cutting edge in the final one.
CHANCE! Blackpool lose the ball on a rare attack and Derby make them pay as they break with plenty of pace. Martin finds the run of Dawkins, whose first touch isn't great and allows Bishop to get back and make a fine last-ditch challenge.
Bryson and Dawkins work a short corner that the former curls in viciously. There's no-one coming in at the back post but Gilks still looks worried and nervously punches out under no pressure.
WHAT A TACKLE! Dawkins brilliantly turns past Basham in the area and instead of shooting cuts back for Martin to tap in to an open goal. It looks set to be a certain goal until the striker's shot is superbly blocked by Bishop. Some game he's having.
MISS! Surely Derby are going to score soon?! Bryson is the latest man to pass up an opportunity as Dawkins cuts back to him. It's a little behind the midfielder and he can only dig a shot up and over the bar from six yards.
If Blackpool can see out this last six or so minutes and get to half time still in the lead, Ince will be over the moon. It will allow him the chance to instruct his players further on how they can defend and keep the ball better. They're doing the first well at the moment but can't keep the ball for very long at all right now.
A big groan comes from the Derby fans as Ward is flagged offside with a promising counter-attack on the cards.
Another slack pass from Keogh. Starting to feel like 'one of the those days' for Derby. I think McClaren will just want to get them back to the changing room now. One minute of time added on at the end of the first half.
HALF TIME: DERBY 0-1 BLACKPOOL
It's Blackpool who surprisingly lead at the break thanks to Osbourne's excellent looping header in the third minute. Derby have pressed and pressed but haven't been as clinical as they usually are.
The stats really don't make good reading for Derby. They've had a whopping 76% possession but got none of their 10 shots on target, with five blocked and five off-target.
Click here to see the full Championship table as it stands. Blackpool are set to go fourth and close within four points of the top two.
In the Premier League, it's been a bit of a nothing opening half an hour between Man Utd and Newcastle. Things can only get better so I recommend that you open this link in a new tab to follow our live updates.
DERBY SUB: McClaren wastes no time in making a change as he brings on Scottish forward Johnny Russell for Jamie Ward.
KICKOFF! We're back underway at the iPro Stadium.
PENALTY TO DERBY! Robinson clips Martin's heels.
GOAL! DERBY 1-1 BLACKPOOL (MARTIN, PEN.)
The Rams number nine makes no mistake by sending Gilks the wrong way. It was a really soft penalty for Haines to award as Martin fell under very little contact from Robinson.
Blackpool's players are getting frustrated with referee Haines. They feel that he wrongly awarded a penalty and now they've been denied a couple of free kicks. Let's hope they don't have three players sent off again.
GOAL! DERBY 2-1 BLACKPOOL (MARTIN)
Dear oh dear! Blackpool's defending was so good in the second half but it's all unravelling now. Basham's header back to Gilks is dreadfully short and Dawkins nips in. He looks to round Gilks but the Blackpool keeper gets a hand to the ball. Unfortunately for him, it drops straight to Martin whose low shot can't be stopped on the line by two orange shirts.
CHANCE! The Rams almost make it three as they streak away on the counter. Russell feeds Dawkins whose pace is too much to handle but he shoots just wide.
GOAL! DERBY 3-1 BLACKPOOL (BRYSON)
Goodness me, Blackpool have given up! Derby scored a third in just over 10 minutes at the start of the second half as Dawkins slips in Wisdom whose cutback hits Bryson and spins into the bottom corner. Slightly lucky but Derby's pressure is finally paying off.
SAVE! Ince is brought down by Eustace to give Blackpool a free kick on the edge of the area. Davies steps up to take and curls a low effort to the keeper's side where Grant unconvincingly pushes it away. The ball falls to Blackett who blazes a shot miles over.
By the way, Blackpool made a change just after the third Derby goal. Nathan Delfouneso is now on for Dobbie.
Better from Blackpool as Davies switches play to Delfouneso charging down the left. He has Blackett on the overlap but goes for goal, with his shot blocked before it can reach the target.
BLACKPOOL SUB: Ince makes a change in midfield as Angel Martinez comes on for Ferguson.
PENALTY TO BLACKPOOL! BISHOP SENT OFF!
GOAL! DERBY 4-1 BLACKPOOL (MARTIN, PEN.)
Martin hits the penalty to the same spot to score his first ever hat-trick in league football.
Here's how the penalty incident unfolded. Dawkins was racing clear on goal when Bishop slid in. Referee Haines pointed to the ball to suggest that a good tackle had been made but his assistant on the far side waved vigorously for a foul. Haines seemed to be happy to be overruled and moved his finger from the ball to the penalty spot. Once he had awarded the pen he had no choice but to send off Bishop as he was denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. Blackpool's seventh red card of the season and fourth in two games!
DERBY SUB: McClaren makes a change at the back as Michael Keane replaces Buxton in the heart of defence.
JUST WIDE! Forsyth almost hooks in a rare goal with his weaker right foot after Blackpool failed to properly clear Russell's low shot. Gilks was motionless as the ball looped towards the corner but dropped inches wide of the post.
Really wouldn't be surprising if Derby have five or six come full time. Hughes is tripped on the right corner of the area so they have a chance to either shoot or cross. Russell over it...
The Scot goes for it but gets it all wrong with an effort that never looked like troubling the goal.
DERBY SUB: Third and final change for the hosts as veteran midfielder Eustace makes way for Jeff Hendrick.
YELLOW! The first yellow card of the game is shown to Blackpool substitute Martinez for a cynical trip on Dawkins.
Unless things drastically change in the last five minutes, Dawkins will be getting my man of the match award. Yes, Martin has scored a hat-trick but two of those goals were penalties and the other was a scruffy goal. Dawkins has been electric for the whole game and provided much more threat. Wisdom also very good down the right for the hosts.
RED CARD! MARTINEZ BOOKED AGAIN!
This is unbelievable. Ince said how angry he was with his three players for getting sent off on Tuesday but they've had two more dismissed today! Martinez can have no complaints as he stupidly chops down Eustace minutes after getting a first booking. This Blackpool side may have talent, but their discipline is so unprofessional. Don't forget, Ince himself returned from a five-game stadium ban on Tuesday.
FIVE minutes more for Blackpool.
GOAL! DERBY 5-1 BLACKPOOL (KEOGH)
Captain Keogh gets his name on the scoresheet by scrambling home after Keane's initial header from Bryson's corner was somehow saved by Gilks. Nightmare second half for Blackpool. They've conceded five goals and had two men sent off.
FULL TIME: DERBY 5-1 BLACKPOOL
One of the worst halves of football that Blackpool fans will remember comes to an end. They conceded five goals and had two men sent off to ruin all their good defending in the first half.
Enough of Blackpool's negatives, it's a fifth consecutive victory for the Rams. McClaren has won seven out of nine games since replacing Nigel Clough. Not bad eh?
Despite the win, Derby remain fourth in the table and are guaranteed to stay there unless Reading win by eight goals at home to Bournemouth.
Anyway, that's all we've got time for here. Click here for our match report with full-size pictures. We have plenty of live coverage on site throughout the afternoon so do stick around on Sports Mole.
