Kicking off their respective EFL Trophy campaigns, Barrow and Blackpool meet at Holker Street on Tuesday.

In the clubs' first Group A contest, both will seek a positive start to a section also featuring Morecambe and Liverpool Under-21s.

Match preview

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After playing out an absorbing 1-1 draw with Wrexham at the end of August, Barrow started September with a return to winning ways as they took maximum points against Harrogate Town on Saturday.

Against his hometown club, Kian Spence struck with a stunning finish in the 21st minute, which proved sufficient to separate the sides and continue Barrow's impressive start to the 2023-24 season.

The Bluebirds have now picked up 11 points from their opening six games in League Two, with three wins and just a sole loss to Stockport County leaving them fourth in the embryonic league table.

Pete Wild's side may have their eye on a promotion push during their fourth season back in the Football League, having finished ninth last term, when they won 12 of their 23 home matches - the third-best tally in England's fourth tier.

One blot on Barrow's record so far, though, was an EFL Cup exit to Bolton Wanderers at the start of last month, so they will be keen to get off the mark in a challenging EFL Trophy group on Tuesday evening.

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Only the top two teams will progress from Group A of the competition's Northern Section, which means Blackpool are also aiming to pick up at least one point from their first of three qualifying fixtures.

While they sit 12th in the League One table after six games, Neil Critchley's men have made a similarly satisfactory start to the season as their midweek hosts, having lost just once in the league so far.

Quickly bouncing back from an EFL Cup hammering by Wolves, the Tangerines scored a dramatic stoppage-time winner at home to Wigan at the weekend, with Kenny Dougall's goal snatching the points after an 89th minute equaliser had hauled their Lancashire rivals level.

Another positive for Critchley was Jordan Rhodes opening the scoring on his home debut, particularly with Shayne Lavery still absent through injury.

Ahead of the upcoming international break - which has seen the Fylde Coast derby against Fleetwood Town postponed - the ex-QPR boss will now hope to build more momentum when the Seasiders travel north to Cumbria.

Team News

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Blackpool start their Group A campaign without Northern Ireland striker Shayne Lavery, who sustained a hamstring injury against Lincoln City last month and will also miss out on international duty.

Jordan Gabriel and Kyle Joseph are also absent again, but Karamoko Dembele recently arrived on a season-long loan from Brest and could make an appearance, after being an unused substitute at the weekend.

Meanwhile, Barrow boss Pete Wild set his side up with a back four for the first time this season on Saturday, and even though there may be some changes in personnel against Blackpool he could persist with that formation after keeping a clean sheet at Harrogate.

Although Robbie Gotts or Gerard Garner could be introduced up front, former Southend United striker Emile Acquah partnered Jamie Proctor on Saturday. Acquah scored his third goal of the season to earn a draw with Wrexham last week, having also netted against Accrington Stanley and Sutton United.

Young defender Mazeed Ogungbo (knee) has recently returned to training but joins Ben Whitfield (Achilles) on the sidelines due to injury.

Barrow possible starting lineup:
Farman; Feely, Ray, Canavan, Tiensia; Foley, Campbell, Spence; Telford; Acquah, Proctor

Blackpool possible starting lineup:
Grimshaw; Pennington, Casey, Husband, Connolly; Hamilton, Dougall, Norburn, Morgan; Rhodes, Beesley

We say: Barrow 0-1 Blackpool

Both sides enjoyed morale-boosting wins at the weekend, and as international call-ups have seen next week's league fixtures postponed, their opening EFL Trophy clash may feature almost first-choice lineups. As a result, a close-fought encounter could be decided by a single goal, with League One Blackpool just having the edge.


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Written by
Jonathan O'Shea

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