League One outfit Blackpool welcome Premier League side Nottingham Forest to Bloomfield Road for an FA Cup third-round replay on Wednesday night.
The Tricky Trees came from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture at the City Ground just over a week ago, and the victors of the replay will set up a fourth-round tie with Bristol City.
Match preview
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After suffering a heavy 4-1 defeat to Blackpool in the FA Cup third round last season, Nottingham Forest were on course to crash out at the same stage to the same opponents exactly 365 days later, as they trailed by two goals inside the first 27 minutes against the Tangerines a week last Sunday.
Albie Morgan netted just two minutes and 47 seconds after former Forest man Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel opened the scoring for Blackpool, but the Tricky Trees pulled one back through Nicolas Dominguez on the stroke of half time, before Morgan Gibbs-White netted a stunning 56th-minute equaliser to rescue a replay.
Nuno Espirito Santo was hoping to take his side to St George's Park in Burton for a bonding session during the winter break, but Forest are forced to "reorganise" their mid-seasons plans as they prepare for their "priority" fixture away at Blackpool.
Forest have since been rocked by the news that they have been charged with breaching the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules, and the club – who sit 15th in the table and just four points above the relegation zone – have released a statement confirming that they "continue to cooperate fully" on the matter and "are confident of a speedy and fair resolution."
The Tricky Trees are at risk of receiving a points deduction, but Nuno will be keen to ensure that his players are focused fully on what they can do on the pitch, starting with Wednesday's FA Cup tie with Blackpool as they endeavour to avoid losing a third successive third-round replay, having previously suffered defeat to Birmingham City (2009-10) and Leicester City (2011-12).
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Despite letting a two-goal lead slip in the draw with Forest, Neil Critchley was able to take plenty of positives from the performance of his Blackpool side, who have since claimed back-to-back home victories in two different competitions against Burton Albion and Exeter City.
After claiming a 2-1 win over Burton last week to progress to the quarter-finals of the EFL Trophy, the Tangerines secured a routine 2-0 success against Exeter City in League One last Saturday courtesy of two first-half goals from in-form midfielder Morgan.
Blackpool, who remain eighth in the third-tier standings and four points behind the playoffs, have certainly enjoyed playing in front of their home supporters in recent week as they have won nine of their last 10 matches at Bloomfield Road in all competitions – a 2-1 league loss to Northampton Town at the end of November the only blot on their copy book during this run.
The Tangerines are now attempting to continue their run in the FA Cup and advance to the fourth round for the third time in four years, as well as progress from the third round in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1969-70 and 1970-71.
Critchley and co will be confident of success on Wednesday as they have won two of their last four FA Cup ties against top-flight opposition, including the aformentioned triumph over Forest last season, having failed to win any of their previous 11 such matches in the competition.
Team News
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Blackpool are set to be without injured duo Jake Beesley and Kylian Kouassi, while Matthew Pennington, who has missed the last five games due to concussion protocols, remains doubtful.
Critchley may consider making changes in the wing-back positions, with Lawrence-Gabriel and Andy Lyons pushing to start ahead of Kyle Joseph and Hayden Coulson respectively.
Should Joseph drop down to the substitutes' bench, CJ Hamilton could move into the front three with Karamoko Dembele and Jordan Rhodes, the latter of whom has scored 15 goals this season but has failed to convert in any of his last five appearances.
As for Nottingham Forest, they have a Premier League-high six players away on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations in the form of Serge Aurier, Ola Aina, Willy Boly, Cheikhou Kouyate, Moussa Niakhate and Ibrahim Sangare.
The Tricky Trees will also have to cope without Taiwo Awoniyi (groin) and Felipe (calf) due to injury, while Anthony Elanga (knock) and Divock Origi (groin) are both doubtful and will be assessed ahead of kickoff.
Nuno will likely start with a similar side that began in the reverse fixture against Blackpool considering the number of absentees, although the likes of Orel Mangala, Nuno Tavares, and Nico Williams will be pushing for a place in the first XI.
Blackpool possible starting lineup:
Grimshaw; Connolly, Casey, Husband; Lawrence-Gabriel, Norburn, Morgan, Lyons; Dembele, Hamilton; Rhodes
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Vlachodimos; Williams, Worrall, Murillo, Tavares; Mangala, Yates; Hudson-Odoi, Dominguez, Gibbs-White; Wood
We say: Blackpool 1-2 Nottingham Forest
Blackpool have every right to feel optimistic of causing an upset on Wednesday considering their impressive home form and recent performances against Nottingham Forest.
However, having had nine full days to rest and prepare for their trip to Bloomfield Road, Forest will be confident in their own abilities to outscore their third-tier counterparts en route to securing their place in the fourth round.
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Top tip
Oliver Thomas
