Blackpool and Fleetwood face off in a local derby with huge significance for their play off aspirations on Saturday

Simon Grayson will be back on old ground on Saturday as he faces his previous employers Blackpool looking to spoil their unbeaten home record.

Grayson’s Fleetwood have won three games in a row heading into this one and are full of confidence as they look to inflict Blackpool’s first home defeat since October.

Neil Critchley’s Seasiders got back to winning ways in midweek with victory away at MK Dons and they will want to complete a league double over their near neighbours in a game of huge significance for the table.

Blackpool sit four points off the playoff places but importantly have three games in hand on Portsmouth, and with Bloomfield Road becoming a bit of a fortress, the mood is high in the camp to keep the promotion hopes going.

Daniel Gretarsson and Gary Madine will both be assessed ahead of this one with a view to them taking a place on the bench after weeks out of the action.

Fleetwood have no new concerns following their Highbury win over Gillingham and will look to the central midfield trio of Callum Camps, Jordan Rossiter and Dan Batty to provide the spark to cause an upset.

They themselves have not given up hope of a late play off push, particularly given the run of form since Grayson arrived following Joey Barton’s departure, but this will be seen as the vital game to prove their suitability.

The return game was a tight affair, with Kenny Dougall the difference maker in a hotly-contested central midfield battle in the Seasiders’ 1-0 win.

It is expected that the midfield battle will decide the game again, as has been the case in many of Blackpool’s important wins this season.

Dougall has been dropped to the bench in recent weeks but it would not be a surprise to see him return to the lineup as Critchley may look to switch up to a 4-3-3 to combat the fluid 3-5-2 system that the Cods have developed.

Grant Ward will more than likely slot into the central midfield also, coming up against Jordan Rossiter who has looked to perform a similar function to Ward, breaking up play and distributing to playmakers.

?@BlackpoolFC host #FTFC tomorrow in @SkyBetLeagueOne action.

We’ve looked at how @GrantWard_ and Jordan Rossiter stat’s compare.? #UTMP @JordansGlass pic.twitter.com/gyCKirMRIU

— Blackpool StatZone (@blackpoolSZ) March 12, 2021

Kevin Stewart has been an instrumental figure in the Blackpool midfield since his arrival on a free transfer in January, but a challenging run of games has left him looking quite tired towards the end of matches and he will hopefully have recovered in time for this one.

The visitors have looked much improved since the Yorkshireman’s appointment, with Dan Batty the key player in the uplift in form.

Batty, who previously played for Hull in the Championship, has shown the quality on the ball in terms of his playmaking ability, whilst also giving an energy and intelligence off the ball to set the tone in the side.

A stereotypical Grayson system has looked to play direct and quite one dimensional with defensive organisation at the forefront, but this system has rubbished that as Fleetwood look innovative and purposeful on the ball, playing a much more balanced style and are not afraid to play out from the back where necessary.

Since Charlie Mulgrew has been out of the side, Fleetwood have played a higher line with Callum Connolly at the heart of everything positive for the club in a defensive aspect, although they have had to rely on the quality of Alex Cairns in goal to keep their winning streak alive.

Blackpool have been slow starters in their past few games, opting to sit off opponents to sound out how they want to play before adapting in game. This cannot be the case against Fleetwood.

Critchley’s side need to be positive and aggressive from the off in order to control the central midfield areas and look to use the pace of CJ Hamilton out wide to exploit the gaps left by the need to cover more narrow passing lanes.

It is vital that Blackpool maintain their composure in the build up phase as they have done for most of the season and they exploit their talents both out wide and in the midfield to overlap options in attack.

This is probably the most important Fylde Coast derby since it came into existence and going into the game both sides are evenly matched.

One thing is for sure, Simon Grayson will want to get one over on his former employers.

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