Blackpool vs Ipswich Predictions

• Blackpool have scored in each of their seven matches against teams that are currently in the top ten.
• Both teams have scored in 67% of Blackpool’s home matches during the current campaign.
• Blackpool have kept a clean sheet in just two of their 15 home matches in League 1 this season.

Seasiders up and down

Since putting an end to what was nothing other than a dreadful run of results back at the start of the month, Blackpool have failed to be consistent. Their victory over Southend was followed by back-to-back defeats, while they’ve since gone unbeaten in two. Last time out, the Seasiders got the job done, but beating Bolton by a goal to nil isn’t exactly something to shout about.

What bodes well for the Seasiders ahead of Saturday’s fixture is the fact that they’ve generally held their own against the big boys at home this season. Blackpool have lost just two of their seven home matches against teams that currently reside in the top ten, and they’ve not lost by more than a single goal in such matches. They’ve also scored in 100% of their games against top-ten sides, scoring two or more in four out of seven. Such a record is a clear positive ahead of this fixture, though the fact that they’re without a clean sheet against top-ten teams isn’t.

Tractor Boys struggling

For Ipswich, things aren’t going well. Though they don’t fit the mould of a traditional struggler, in the sense that they’re nowhere near the bottom of the table, given their goals, the Tractor Boys aren’t in good shape. One-time frontrunners for promotion, Paul Lambert’s men now find themselves in 9^th position, three points shy of the top six.

Realistically, being three points from the top six isn’t a terrible position to be in, but it’s more the fact that Ipswich appear to be moving in the wrong direction. They’ve won just one of their last six and have won back-to-back games just once in the last three months. Such form is hardly what you’d expect from one of the so-called big boys in the division. Ahead of this clash, it’s also relatively alarming that Ipswich have won just one of their last eight away matches.

Goals appeal

In the betting, ‘Both Teams to Score’ stands out as a viable candidate for the main selection. Ipswich haven’t exactly excelled in terms of goals for of late, especially on the road, but their overall scoring record against the lesser teams is more than reasonable. That Tractor Boys have found the net in six of their eight away matches against teams that are currently in the bottom ten. Furthermore, Blackpool have an excellent scoring record against teams of Ipswich’s ilk, while both teams have scored in each of their seven home games against teams currently in the top ten.

‘Correct Score’ punters can try a 2-1 win for the hosts, who of late, have offered more going forward than their visitors. Consider this in conjunction with the general form of the visitors, add in the fact that they’ve scored twice in each of their last three at home, and on four other occasions, alongside the fact that they’ve conceded exactly once nine times at home this season, and a 2-1 win for the hosts starts to appeal.