Blackpool vs Sunderland Predictions

Things hadn’t been going too well for the Seasiders, though they steadied themselves to take a point away against Wimbledon last time out. With that reasonably sturdy performance under their belts, Terry McPhillips’ men may just fancy themselves to regain the winning thread against promotion chasers Sunderland, who were held to a draw by Shrewsbury on Saturday afternoon.

Blackpool weren’t great at Kingsmeadow on Saturday, but they did what was required to avoid losing for the third game on the bounce, which will have done them plenty of good, as will the clean sheet.

They may not have won for a little while, but Blackpool aren’t likely to lack confidence on their own patch. The Seasiders have been far from imperious at Bloomfield Road, though they have been tough to beat. During the current campaign, only two teams have visited Blackpool and returned with all three points, while Saturday’s hosts have kept the second most clean sheets at home in League One this season, shutting their opponents out in 42% of their matches in front of their own fans.

Their last home match against Barnsley saw the Seasiders deliver a relatively poor performance, but they bumped into a visiting side that was very good that day. Prior to that, the hosts had won two on the bounce at Bloomfield Road, bettering their opponents in terms of expected goals on both occasions. A repeat of their useful performance against a top-six team in Charlton would likely be enough for them to get a result on Tuesday, especially if Sunderland don’t up their game.

As for the visitors, well, Sunderland come into this match having failed to justify red-hot favouritism at home to Shrewsbury on Saturday, and they could have few complaints as their performance certainly didn’t merit victory. If the Black Cats are serious about getting promoted, then they’ll need to do better than finishing a home match against a mid-table side with an expected goal difference of -0.42.

For all Sunderland are a decent side, they’re far from infallible, as Saturday’s match proved. What’s more, for all Jack Ross’ men have a decent record on the road, their recent away performances haven’t been overly impressive. They’ve failed to win either of their last two travelling matches, while they’ve been bettered in terms of expected goals in each of their last four away from home. This essentially tells us that Ross’ men are struggling to create more than their opponents, which doesn’t exactly bode well ahead of a trip to face a Blackpool side that can be tough to pass.

Sunderland looked far too short at the weekend and that is once again the case. Blackpool aren’t one of League One’s very best, but they’re no mugs. Additionally, Sunderland have underwhelmed of late, so it’s tough to say that they merit short-priced favouritism ahead of this match, especially given their recent showings on the road. ‘Blackpool to Win’ represents a small slice of value.