16th placed Blackpool travel to London Road having drawn their last 4 games.
Peterborough United -Vs- Blackpool
Venue: London Road
Date: 1st December, 2012
Kick-off: 3pm
The Posh won this fixture last season with Tyrone Barnett netting one of the goals, but this time, it`s Dwight Gayle looking to grab a goal for his new employers, as Posh look to stop the rot, and come away with a good result against a strong Blackpool side.
Blackpool have drawn their last 4 games, the most recent being a 1-1 draw with Lee Clark`s Birmingham City. Blackpool have struggled to find their top form since the departure of Ian Holloway, but Michael Appleton has said if his side have the right approach, he`s confident of a win over basement side, Posh.
TEAM NEWS
Peterborough United
Full back, Tommy Rowe, is expected back for the Posh on Saturday, although it is unlikely that Joe Newell (pictured below) will be dropped from the side, following his impressive performance at Charlton at Tuesday night. He was amongst Posh`s top performers on an evening that saw Posh dominate, but lose 2-0.
Posh will again be without injured forward Saido Berahino, who`s still recovering from an injury sustained against Ipswich. It is expected that Dwight Gayle will keep his place in the side, and make his first home appearance, as he is Posh`s only other striker. George Thorne will also keep his place, and make his first home appearance since joining on loan from West Brom.
Michael Bostwick picked up his 5th yellow card of the campaign at Charlton on Tuesday, and is suspended for the visit of Blackpool today. And despite Posh fans calling for club captain Gabriel Zakuani to return, it is likely to be Craig Alcock that comes back into the side, seeing Zakuani stay on the substitutes bench.
Peterborough United, this week recalled winger Daniel Kearns from York City, after the young midfielder put in a number of impressive performances for the Minstermen. He is expected to go straight into the Posh squad for Saturday`s game, albeit from the substitutes bench.
Vital Posh predicts the starting line-up could be:
Olejnik
Little, Alcock, Brisley, Knight-Percival, Newell
Thorne, McCann, Tomlin
Boyd
Gayle
Blackpool
On loan Bournemouth striker, Wes Thomas (below), could start for the visitors after veteran forward Kevin Phillips played both of Blackpool`s games this week.
Blackpool will be without winger Matt Phillips (toe), centre half Ian Evatt (knee) and Gary Taylor-Fletcher (hamstring) for the trip to London Road, as they look to end a run of 4 straight draws.
HOTSHOTS
Peterborough United
6 – Boyd
6 – Tomlin
3 – Sinclair
2 – Berahino
2 – Bostwick
Blackpool
11 – Ince
3 – Delfouneso
3 – Dicko
3 – Grandin
3 – Taylor Fletcher
PREDICTION
The Posh dominated the midweek game against Charlton, but ended up leaving the Valley with no points, following a 2-0 defeat. This has become a regular thing for Fergie`s men, playing well in games, but not being clinical enough to finish them off, and often coming away with nothing?
Blackpool have a number of fantastic players, most notably Thomas Ince, son of legend Paul Ince. Ince already has 11 goals this term, and is amongst one of the top performers in the league, and has attracted interest from a number of premier league clubs, and he could be the man to watch for posh, as the home side look to stop conceding as many goals as they currently do.
Vital Posh predicts a 3 – 2 defeat, seeing Posh stay at the foot of the Npower Championship table.
REFEREE
David WEBB takes charge of this clash.
The referee from Lancashire has refereed Posh 5 times in the past, and only once have they ran out winners, and that was back in 2010 when Posh beat Cardiff 2-1 at home! The most recent occasion was in last season`s 3-0 home defeat by current Blackpool manager Michael Appleton`s old side, Portsmouth.
This referee also has bad memories of reffing Posh – when reffing Charlton v Posh at the Valley in 2011, he suffered an injury and was stretchered off!
He will be assisted by Michael George and Nigel Lugg.
The fourth official is Matthew Buonassisi.
UP THE POSH Follow me on Twitter: @TomLea_PUFC
Photos/images courtesy of www.theposhpics.com
Join Vital Peterborough United!
With news and views, along with a forum, polls and article comments, everything you need in a fans site is right here!
Vital Posh is 100% interactive. Not only can you have your say on the articles and the forum but you can also suggest an article or a poll so you can air your views.
So why not join Vital Posh today?
It’s easy to REGISTER HERE. Simply click the link and enjoy getting involved!.
Message Board
To visit the message board, click here.
Get involved
This website is your website and we are looking for people to help run the site. Do you go to most of the games and have an opinion? Why not write a match report? Perhaps you are a budding journalist or even just someone who is very opinionated? Well why not join our team? If this interests you please contact Vital Posh at peterborough@vitalfootball.co.uk .
Vital Peterborough is also on:
