Blackpool go into their double Gameweek in the worst defensive form of the season; with five league defeats in a row and 16 goals conceded in that period, it’s hard to see how manager Ian Holloway is going to turn things around. It’s not all doom and gloom from a Fantasy perspective however, Holloway recently refused to give up on the attacking formation that saw them record home and away victories over Liverpool, and while their suicidal defending effectively rules out their back four as options, there is enough potential in attack to justify investment going into the Gameweek.
The Prospects
Despite their excellent start to the season, Blackpool have hit a worrying slump and as the season progresses, Blackpool will be keen to avoid the fate of Hull and Burnley who both slipped into relegation despite making promising starts. The major factor in both of those teams decline was almost certainly fatigue and lack of squad options, and Holloway will be well aware of the problems of playing the same eleven every single week.
Blackpool were one of the more active sides in the January transfer window, bringing in left-back Salaheddine Sbai, midfielders Jason Puncheon and Andy Reid, and strikers James Beattie and Sergei Kornilenko, all on loans or short term deals. It’s clear that Holloway intends to use the new arrivals to rest and rotate his first team in an effort to carry them over the finishing line, a worrying signal for owners of the likes of Luke Varney or DJ Campbell going into their double fixture. Right now however both Sbai and Kornilenko remain out of the equation as they build up their fitness.
Both of Blackpool’s matches offer a good chance of picking up some decent attacking points, and Fantasy managers will be hopeful of another eight goal thriller to boost their returns. Villa’s away form has been pretty poor of late, letting in 12 goals in their last five games, so their first game probably represents their best chance of a bumper haul.
Tottenham have fared slightly better, with a clean sheet in their last away trip and five conceded in their last five, but their need to pick up all three points and Harry Redknapp’s attacking intent will probably see them line up in an attacking 4-4-2 formation.
As demonstrated in their last game against Everton (in the first-half), the way to nullify Blackpool’s midfield threat is to play a deep lying holding midfielder to break up the play and stop Adam getting time on the ball. Marouane Fellaini played this role excellently, it was only in the second-half that cracks started to appear and Blackpool found some space. It will be interesting to see if Redknapp follows suit and deploys Wilson Palacios in this role. If he does decide to go gung-ho with two up front and a flat four in the middle, then we could see another high scoring game.
Likely Lads
Blackpool usually line up in an attacking 4-3-3 formation, with David Vaughan the most defensive of the three midfielders, Charlie Adam just ahead, and Elliot Grandin (or Andy Reid) furthest forward. Of these three, only Adam really stands out as a viable option; his set-piece deliveries, penalty duties and all round influence on Blackpool’s play make him possibly the only untouchable player in the side, and he is one of very few players that regularly picks up Bonus Points even when on the losing side.
It is worth noting however, that for all the credit Adam gets, he doesn’t actually play that far forward and 6 goals and 6 assists from 25 games is hardly a prolific return. His staggering 35 Bonus Points so far more than makes up for this of course. A word of caution however, as pointed out in earlier in the week Adam is currently on 9 bookings for the season, one more and he will be banned for two matches.
While none of Blackpool’s forwards are guaranteed to start both games, DJ Campbell probably offers the most secure option. Holloway has already indicated that he intends to rotate to give his new signings a chance, and this was evident against Everton, when both Varney and Taylor-Fletcher were dropped in favour of Puncheon and Beattie. Campbell did keep his starting place in that game however, so if you are considering a Blackpool striker then he is probably the most secure.
You would have to be crazy to bring in a Blackpool defender given their current form, but at least their goalkeeper Richard Kingson is guaranteed to start both games after Paul Rachubka suffered a recurrence of his knee injury in training, which could see him miss the rest of the season. Blackpool do tend to rely on their full backs getting forwards, so Neil Eardley and David Carney ‘could’ provide some potential, but if you are looking for a defender with a double Gameweek then there are much better options out there.
Cheeky Punt
James Beattie arrived on loan from Rangers on transfer deadline day, and made his debut straight away, in their defeat to West Ham. He started as one of their front three against Everton, and is the most likely of the new signings to play both matches in the double. He picked up an assist in that game, and did show enough promise to make him a viable option.
