Morecambe and Blackpool face off in their final pre-season friendly before return to league action

Blackpool will travel to the Mazuma Stadium to take of Stephen Robinson’s Morecambe in their final pre-season game before the start of the new 2021/22 season.

Neil Critchley’s side lost out 1-0 to Burnley at Bloomfield Road in midweek but showed a number of positive signs against a strong Clarets team.

The Tangerines are still missing a large bulk of their key first-team players after a COVID outbreak brought heavy disruption to their pre-season schedule, with the home game against Scottish Champions Rangers postponed.

Those absentees also join a number of injury concerns with Daniel Gretarsson amongst them as the Blackpool squad will be extremely stretched ahead of their first Championship campaign since 2014/15.

Trialist Mitch Clark, a young right-back from Leicester, will have his Blackpool future decided before Saturday’s trip, with an expectation that he will join the club in some capacity given the lack of recognised right-backs at the club following Jordan Gabriel and Ollie Turton’s departure.

Arsenal striker Tyreece John-Jules has joined the Seasiders on loan for the season following impressive outings for Doncaster in League One in 2020/21 and he will go straight into the squad as Critchley looks to get him up to speed before the trip to Bristol City.

As for the hosts, Derek Adams’ departure following their remarkable promotion to League One meant the arrival of former Motherwell boss Stephen Robinson, and he has looked to quickly strengthen the squad having seen a few of the key players from the last campaign move on.

Yann Songo’o and Carlos Mendes Gomes have both left for Bradford City and Luton Town respectively and it was vital that Robinson reinvigorated the spine of the team before a big step up in quality that awaits the Shrimps in League One.

Adam Phillips has returned to the club on loan from Burnley after his impressive start to the last campaign, before joining Accrington in January 2021 in a less so inspiring spell away from Turf Moor, with Ryan Cooney arriving on a permanent deal from the Clarets after his loan spell at the Mazuma Stadium under Derek Adams.

The likes of Greg Leigh, Jonathan Obika and Shane McLoughlin have arrived to add to the quality and experience in the squad alongside over 10 more signings to revolutionise the look of the playing staff, with many of those arriving from the Scottish Premiership where Robinson did an incredible job with Motherwell.

This will be a tough test for the Seasiders with Robinson well known for adapting to opponents and altering systems to make his side both hard to beat and also fluid in attack when required, but it is the perfect end for both clubs in pre-season ahead of what are exciting seasons for both.

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