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The Tangerines hit the ground running last week and we are backing Appleton’s side to do the business at Stoke on Saturday.
In classic away win smash and grab style, we think Blackpool will keep it tight in the first half, then go on to win the game in the second.
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The Potters lost convincingly to Milwall on the opening weekend, with Michael O’Neil’s side looking to progress beyond the bottom half of the table where they have finished in the last four seasons since relegation from the top flight.
Stoke still possesses a good amount of talent within their ranks and have added to it this summer with Newcastle’s Dwight Gayle coming in who has an unbelievable goalscoring record in the second division.
Blackpool meanwhile beat Reading 1-0, who are tipped to struggle after a torrid campaign last time out. Nevertheless, the Tangerine Army will be pleased their season is off to a good start after performing in their first season back in the Championship, finishing 16th and well clear of the relegation battle.
However, they have lost manager Neil Critchley this summer, who bizarrely opted to go to Aston Villa as assistant to Steven Gerrard. Michael Appleton replaced the departing coach and initial signs are that he will be a good fit for Blackpool.
Despite a decent showing last year, Appleton’s side are priced at just 4/1 to go down, whereas Stoke are 15/2 to drop to League One. We’d expect both sides to finish in similar positions to last year and that’s reflected in the bottom half finish odds of 8/11 (Stoke) and 4/11 (Blackpool).
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