Blackpool vs Stoke prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-02-17 15:00.
The prospect of survival gets increasingly bleak with each passing week for Blackpool, who remained rooted to the foot of the Championship table after their 2-1 loss to Swansea in midweek. That stretched their winless league to 14 games now (D6, L8), and with a mounting injury list and suspensions due to red cards to deal with, manager Mick McCarthy might need a Houdini act if he’s to keep his club in the Championship.
Bloomfield Road could play a vital role if the Seasiders are to escape the drop, as they’ve proven a tough nut to crack by losing only one of their last six home matches (W1, D4). The visit of Stoke could prolong their title as the Championship’s wooden-spooners though, considering they’ve failed to win any of their last 12 home league H2Hs against the Potters (D6, L6).
Stoke ended a two-game winless run (D1, L1) by beating relegation-threatened Huddersfield 3-0 last time out, opening up a seven-point buffer over those in the drop zone. They can thank keeping an impressive three clean sheets in their last four league outings for that, meaning Alex Neil’s men could operate with a little less pressure on their shoulders as the season enters its final third.
They have struggled on the road recently though, failing to win any of their last three away league assignments (D1, L2). The travelling Stoke fans will likely be relishing making the trip here, having taken the mickey out of McCarthy managed sides by losing only once in their last ten H2Hs against him (W4, D5), making the prospect of securing a first league double over Blackpool since the 1999/00 season a firm reality.
Players to watch: Blackpool’s Jerry Yates has scored nine of his last 14 goals after the 75th minute, while Stoke haven’t lost in any of Jacob Brown’s last 18 goalscoring outings (W14, D4), including the 2-0 win over Blackpool earlier this season.
Hot stat: Both these sides have conceded the opening goal a joint league-high 19 times this season, with both producing the same woeful record when doing so (W1, D4, L14).