Eng. Championship
2012-03-02 - Blackpool vs Hull City
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Championship
Friday 2 March 2012 - Kick Off 7:45pm
This game is live on TV
Blackpool
The last time Blackpool played in front of their own fans, they were hammered at the hands of West Ham United despite the fact that the Hammers were playing with just ten men and no recognised goalkeeper for a lot of the second half and the game poised at 1-2. Instead of letting their heads drop, the Blackpool players got back on the horse and remain in contention for an automatic promotion back to the Premier League.
The team sit 4th in the Championship following an impressive 1-3 win at Bristol City last time out, and they are only 6 points behind West Ham in second, although having played a game more, and only 7 points behind Southampton at the top of the table with 13 games left to play. Bloomfield Road has generally been a tough venue for teams to visit as Blackpool have gone 9-4-3 there so far, scoring 26 goals and conceding 15.
The defeat to West Ham is the only one Blackpool have suffered in their last 9 Championship games, but they have since bounced back with that win at Bristol City. They come into this game having won 5 of their last 7 League games, although both failures have come at Bloomfield Road. The team have failed to win their last 2 games at home, but had won 4 of their previous 5 here.
Kevin Phillips is a veteran that has provided some big goals for Ian Holloway this season, and he could be joined by another in the form of Robbie Fowler who is on trial at Blackpool and could be in the squad for the Friday night game.
Hull City
Nigel Pearson left his role as manager of Hull City to take over at Leicester City, but Nick Barmby has seamlessly fitted in to his first role in his managerial career. There are still some hopes that Hull could make a return to the top flight with a strong end to the season, although they are likely to have to go through the Play Offs if they are to achieve that aim.
The Tigers are currently 9th in the Championship table, but they have a couple of games in hand over some of their rivals above them and they are only 2 points behind 6th placed Cardiff City. In fact, Hull fans can point to the fact that they are only 10 points behind West Ham in the automatic promotion spot, even if they are separated by 7 places in the table. Hull are 6-4-5 away from home this season, scoring 12 goals and conceding 12, which makes them the joint second lowest scorers in the League, but also the team with the best defensive record on their travels.
Goals have been the biggest problem for Hull for much of the season, and they have now failed to score in 4 of their last 5 games in all competitions. The team are unbeaten in their last 6 Championship games, but they have drawn 3 of their last 4, all finishing goalless. Hull have won just 1 of their last 4 away games in the League, failing to score in 3 of those and losing 2.
Head to Head
Blackpool finished as 0-1 winners from the KC Stadium earlier this season and will feel they can do the double over Hull.
Their confidence may stem from the fact that they have won their last 2 home games against Hull and 3 of the last 4 here.
They last met at Bloomfield Road in the 2007/08 season when Blackpool finished as 2-1 winners.
Prediction
Blackpool continue playing a lot of attacking football and that means they are always susceptible to conceding goals, something that could end their chances of picking up three points from this game against a very well organised Hull City team.
The fact of the matter is Hull have not conceded a goal in their last 4 games in the League, but I do think Blackpool could be worth chancing at odds against as they have some players that are really capable of testing that Hull defensive record.
Also, it has to be pointed out that the Tigers have got those clean sheets mainly from their home games recently, while they have been beaten in 2 of their last 4 away games in the League.
The lack of goals in the Hull team is a concern and Blackpool have been in good form despite not winning either of their last 2 games at Bloomfield Road. Still, the odds against is too tempting considering the form they have displayed and I can just imagine a wily veteran like Kevin Phillips having a bit too much know how for the Hull defenders and scoring a winning goal in this one.
The Pick :
Blackpool 1-0 Hull City
