Fleetwood Town face Blackpool on Saturday 5 December at Highbury Stadium in Sky Bet League One, and we have all you need to know ahead of the 3pm kick-off in our match preview.
Fixture: Fleetwood Town v Blackpool
Competition: Sky Bet League One
Date: Saturday 5 December 2020
Kick-off: 15:00
Venue: Highbury Stadium, Park Avenue, Fleetwood, FY7 6TX
Match officials: John Busby (Referee), Gary Hilton & Gareth Mellor (Assistant Referees), James Bell (Fourth Official)
FLEETWOOD TOWN
Fleetwood are currently sat in eighth position in the Sky Bet League One table as they head into their derby day clash against the Seasiders on Saturday.
Joey Barton’s side are on an eight-game unbeaten streak at home, with wins coming against table-toppers Hull City and promotion-chasing Sunderland, and a comfortable 5-1 result against Plymouth Argyle also came last month.
Last time out, Town were unlucky not to pick up any points in their trip to the PTS Academy Stadium as they seemed to dominate possession throughout their game against Northampton. A temporary lapse of concentration meant the home side could convert a corner at the start of the second half, scoring the only goal in the game.
BLACKPOOL
Blackpool find themselves in 14th place heading into this one, after beating Portsmouth at Bloomfield Road in their last outing.
Blackpool battled in their league clash against Pompey on Tuesday with Keshi Anderson – who scored his first league goal of the season – scoring the pivotal goal in the game just after the hour mark to help secure all three points for his side at Bloomfield Road.
Before that, Blackpool were in Emirates FA Cup action against Sky Bet League Two side Harrogate Town and they ran away 4-0 winners in that one. Josh Falkingham scored an own goal to get the Seasiders underway, with Grant Ward, Jordan Gabriel, and Dan Kemp adding onto the scoreline before the end.
PRE-MATCH QUOTES – JOEY BARTON
Head coach Joey Barton spoke to the press ahead of his side’s Sky Bet League One clash against Blackpool on Saturday. He had this to say:
“I’m really looking forward to the game, really looking forward to it. I think Blackpool go into the game as the favourites due to their recent form and it’s very rare that we have gone into a game as the underdogs. I think they have won seven out of the last eight, albeit there are some EFL Trophy and FA Cup games in there, but still, they are winning more than they are losing.
“We know that in the local derby, their fans don’t consider it a derby unless they win and if we beat them, they don’t consider it so, and it sets up for us to bounce back from a disappointing result, albeit not a disappointing performance.
“They’ve been on a good run so it will be good two good sides, Colin Calderwood has gone in as Critchley’s assistant, who is a good friend of mine, and a great coach who I worked with at Newcastle. There’s no doubt that they will make them a better side because he’s a good man and a better coach and we are going to have to be the best version of ourselves if we are going to get anything out of the game.”
ONE TO WATCH – JERRY YATES
One to watch from Blackpool will be forward Jerry Yates. The 24-year-old has been pivotal for the Seasiders since the end of October as he has scored five goals in the last seven games in all competitions.
Doncaster-born Yates began his career at Rotherham in 2014 and, even though he made 52 appearances for the club, he spent the majority of his time there out on loan at clubs like Harrogate, Carlisle United, and Swindon Town.
The forward was able to find goals during all his loan spells as he managed to score five goals in eight appearances across two loan spells at Harrogate, seven in 29 for Carlisle, and 14 in 35 at Swindon.
After his loan spell at County Ground, he returned to Rotherham in July 2020 but was then sold on to Blackpool later that month. Since joining Neil Critchley’s side, Yates has gone on to make 18 appearances, scoring five goals in that time.
WATCH TOWN ON iFOLLOW!
Make sure you don’t miss any of the action on Derby Day against Blackpool this Saturday by getting your video match pass today!
With games still being played behind closed doors, the match pass is your best option to watch the Cod Army during the early stages of the 2020/21 season.
Joey Barton’s side narrowly lost out to Northampton Town last time out but will be looking to beat our local rivals, Blackpool, in Saturday’s Sky Bet League One fixture – and you can watch the game live on our iFollow for just £10!
If you'd like to purchase your match pass, click HERE.
