Previews

North-west derby on the menu

Author: John Harris
Date: 30/11/2009
Football betting

Blackpool will face nearest rivals Preston North End in a north-west Championship derby on Monday evening.

With both teams in the top-half of the Championship table, both will be looking to consolidate their positions in the higher echelons of England's second tier.

Preston lost last Monday against Newcastle United in a tight contest at Deepdale.

The Magpies were thankful that a Kevin Nolan strike late in the day secured the three points and that defeat has left the Lilywhites in 12th place - this after they were in third place after their 2-1 win at Leicester City on September 26.

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Since that win, they have claimed just one success in the last eight games - away at Sheffield Wednesday last month - and it is a disappointing slide manager Alan Irvine will want to halt, starting at Bloomfield Road.

A precious three points and local bragging rights could well turn their slump around and Irvine will no doubt be drilling this into his players ahead of the showdown.

Blackpool boast an excellent home record of six wins and two draws from their eight league games to date, scoring 17 and conceding just three times.

The Tangerines are sure to be confident of grabbing all three points once more.

They occupy seventh spot in the league, just one place outside the play-off zone, and manager Ian Holloway will be delighted the progress his unfashionable side are making.

With Charlie Adam pulling the strings in the middle of the park, the Seasiders, who are sportsbook favourites to grab a win on Monday night, are a strong outside bet to maintain their fine form between now and the end of the season.

Hameur Bouazza, who missed last weekend's defeat at Reading, will be back in contention for a recall after he met the Algerian president following his country's World Cup qualification victory against Egypt that could see the midfielder make an appearance at next summer's finals in South Africa.

Preston will be without injury victim Youl Mawene after he damaged knee ligaments in the game against Newcastle last week and Blackpool could be missing Stephen Crainey after he injured a foot in their weekend game at Reading.

Football League officials are clearly aware that local derbies can be heated affairs and they have acted by appointing top Premier League referee Kevin Friend for the clash.

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