West Brom 1-0 Blackpool as it happened: Seasiders slump to disappointing defeat

Blackpool return to the Midlands tonight as they take on surprise strugglers West Brom at the Hawthorns.

The buoyant Seasiders will be hunting a third win on the spin against the side that sit bottom of the Championship.

To find out if they can manage it, follow our blog for build-up, team news, live match updates and post-match reaction.

A reminder that tonight’s game kicks off at the slightly later time of 8pm.

Buoyant Blackpool head back to the Midlands tonight as they look to make it three wins from three, something they haven’t achieved since March.

The Seasiders claimed a second consecutive victory on Saturday as they came from behind to beat Coventry City 2-1 thanks to goals from Gary Madine and Jerry Yates.

The win saw Michael Appleton’s side put some much-needed space between themselves and the Sky Blues, who occupy that final position in the bottom three.

It’s another surprise struggler they face tonight in the form of West Brom, who sit bottom of the table on just 14 points.

The Baggies have lost their last three and have won just one in 13, despite being tipped to challenge for promotion before a ball was kicked.

Gavin Ward is the man in the middle for tonight’s game, while Mark Russell and Robert Hyde are on linesmen duty. Andy Woolmer is the fourth official.

Ward has dished out 51 yellow cards so far this season during his 14 games, but no reds.

He last officiated a Blackpool game in February for the 2-1 away defeat to QPR. He also took charge of the 2-1 away defeat to Millwall when Callum Connolly saw red.

Shayne Lavery returns for Blackpool after serving his three-match suspension.

But tonight’s game is likely to come too soon for Liam Bridcutt (hamstring) and Keshi Anderson (calf/thigh), who could be back available for the home clash against Luton Town at the weekend.

Elsewhere, Jordan Gabriel (knee), Kevin Stewart (fractured foot and calf), Lewis Fiorini (hamstring) and Jake Beesley (also a fractured foot) all remain sidelined.

“The players are in a good place given the back-to-back wins,” Appleton said.

“It was two very good performances but two very different performances. One at home and one away. But we’re now looking forward to another big challenge on Tuesday night.

“They’re clearly in a very false position but ultimately results do tell a story as well, so we’re obviously mindful of that.

“They’ve obviously got quality players and I do believe that at some point they will start winning games and start climbing the table, I just hope that’s after Tuesday night.”

“It’s really important for us to bounce back on Tuesday night and that’s why we are really focused on the game against Blackpool,” Baggies boss Carlos Corberan said.

“Immediately after we finished on Saturday, we started preparing for Blackpool and turned our attention to that particular game.

“We have to compete in the best way that we possibly can to give ourselves the best chance of winning.

“Every time you play a game there are two things which you look for. The points and the win, which obviously we didn’t get on Saturday.

“The other is performances which are either encouraging, or give us the possibility to fix or correct the things that we didn’t do. You can also pick out certain things which you did well in a match and build on them.

“I always expect tough games in this division and Blackpool will be no different. It doesn’t matter whether you play against teams who are doing well or teams who haven’t got as many positive results as they would’ve wanted.

“That’s why I think it’s one of the best leagues in the world.

“We have to show our identity, but we also must be aware of the situations which may happen.

“We have to be ready to face every type of scenario which teams in the Championship throw at us.”

I don’t envy Michael Appleton at all picking his starting line-up to face WBA.

Changes are surely inevitable to keep things fresh, but working out where those changes come is virtually impossible. No-one deserves to be dropped.

I’ve made one big call...

Michael Appleton has been forced into making one change to his Blackpool side for tonight’s clash against West Brom.

Key man Charlie Patino misses out through illness, with Callum Wright taking his place in midfield.

The Seasiders are otherwise unchanged from Saturday’s 2-1 comeback win against Coventry City.

Shayne Lavery returns from suspension to take his place on the bench, which only features six names.

That’s because Patino only reported ill this afternoon after the squad had already stayed over last night.

Jordan Gabriel (knee), Liam Bridcutt (hamstring), Kevin Stewart (fractured foot and calf), Lewis Fiorini (hamstring) Keshi Anderson (quad) and Jake Beesley (also a fractured foot) all remain sidelined.

Blackpool travel to the Hawthorns looking to claim a third consecutive win, something they’ve not managed since March.

The Seasiders also haven’t won at this venue since 1963.

They have a big opportunity to do exactly that though against an out-of-form Baggies side, who prop up the Championship table on just 14 points.

The West Midlands outfit have lost their last three and won just one of their last 13 games.

Carlos Corberan makes three changes to the side that lost 2-0 to Sheffield United at the weekend.