Michael Appleton provides injury update after Blackpool's goalless draw against Birmingham City
and live on Freeview channel 276
The Seasiders will be hoping to have put their rest and recuperation to good use as they aim to get back to winning ways and climb up the Championship table ahead of a hectic festive schedule.
Follow our blog for build-up, team news, live match updates and post-match reaction.
Blackpool v Birmingham City - live updates
Key Events
- LIVE: Blackpool 0-0 Birmingham
- Seasiders resume their Championship campaign after World Cup break
- Michael Appleton’s side hoping to avoid fifth straight defeat
Good afternoon
And welcome to today’s live blog.
After a month-long break, the real action finally returns as Blackpool resume their Championship campaign - Birmingham City are the opponents.
Follow our blog for build-up, team news, live match updates and post-match reaction.
Match preview
The Seasiders get their season back up and running this afternoon with a home clash against Birmingham City.
After enjoying a month off to recharge the batteries, Michael Appleton’s men will be desperate to get back to winning ways after suffering four straight defeats before the World Cup break.
Another defeat on their return would mean a fifth straight loss, a run Blackpool haven’t endured for seven years when they lost seven games in a row during their League One relegation campaign, albeit two were in cup competitions.
A 2-0 defeat to Port Vale on November 24, 2015 was the last time they suffered a fifth straight league defeat.
Their opponents Birmingham sit 14th in the table, only three points adrift of the play-offs and six points ahead of the Seasiders.
The referee in charge of this afternoon’s encounter is Thomas Bramall, who has dished out 39 yellow cards in his 12 games this season and one red.
He last took charge of Blackpool in September 2021 when they were beaten 3-0 at home by Huddersfield Town.
Michael Appleton had hoped the World Cup break would give his side the opportunity to get four or five players back from injury.
However, Pool’s head coach - speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday - said the Seasiders are somehow in a worse position on the injury front now than they were before the break.
Appleton opted to keep his cards close to his chest though and didn’t reveal any names, other than stating six or seven players are likely to remain out until at least January.
We know the identity of four of those: Jordan Gabriel, Kevin Stewart and Keshi Anderson being three, while Jordan Thorniley is still feeling the effects of the concussion he suffered prior to the break.
But we’ll have to wait until the teams are named at 2pm to discover who else has picked up an injury.
Another player who will also be missing is captain Marvin Ekpiteta, who serves the first game of his two-match ban.
Michael Appleton’s pre-match comments
“We want to turn a four-game losing streak into a four-game winning streak and the Championship is that type of league that enables you to do that.
“If you stay positive and stick to the belief this group is more than capable of.
“We’re going to need the fans massively, between now and the end of the season they’re going to play a key, key part in retaining our status.
“The lads are aware of that, they know that. I’m sure the fans appreciate the importance of making sure we’re winning games on a regular basis at home and trying to pick up points away from home.
“That could be the difference between the second half of the season to what happened in the first half.”
Opposition view
“The fans are fantastic,” Blues boss John Eustace said of Birmingham’s 3,400 sellout.
“They’ve been like that throughout the season so far, because they’ve really backed the boys and we all really appreciate their support.
“We’re all really grateful they’re making that trip at the weekend to support the boys again.
“Blackpool are a really good team. They’ve got some real momentum this season from last season after having a really good season.
“They’ve got a really good manager there with a good coaching staff, so we know it’s going to be a very, very difficult game.
“There’s only four or five points between us which is nothing in this league, so their position in the league is nothing for them to worry about.
“They’re a really good team and we know it’s going to be a really difficult game for us.”
How will the Seasiders line up?
It had been hoped the time off would allow the Seasiders to get some players back from injury, but it appears the situation has become even worse rather than improve.
With Michael Appleton opting to keep his cards close to his chest and not reveal the identity of those players out injured, it makes predicting Blackpool’s starting XI especially difficult.