League One Play Off Final Preview: Blackpool v Lincoln City

On Sunday afternoon, Blackpool and Lincoln will do battle at Wembley to determine who will earn promotion to the Championship.

Team News

Blackpool manager Neil Critchley will assess the fitness of Dan Ballard, Grant Ward and Sully Kaikai.

Defender Adam Jackson and midfielder James Jones are unavailable for the game. Joe Walsh, TJ Eyoma and Lewis Montsma are all rated 50/50 for the game, though Appleton is confident they will be fit.

Head-to-Head

The two league games between the sides have seen a Lincoln win and a draw. In October, the game at Bloomfield Road saw Lincoln run out 3-2 winners. In the game at Sincil Bank in April, the game ended in a 2-2 draw.

Form

Blackpool: WLWWW

Lincoln City: DWLWD

The Manager’s Views

Blackpool manager Neil Critchley wants to win for the fans in the ground and those back in Blackpool. Critchley told the Blackpool website “For the few supporters that are able to travel down and support us, we’ll do everything we can to ensure they enjoy their day out, as well as the thousands that I’m sure will be backing us from back home”.

Michael Appleton wants his players to focus on the game itself and not the occasion. Appleton told the Lincoln website “It’s very difficult because of the size of the game but it’s about getting the players to focus on the 95, 98 minutes, whatever it is, rather than what’s going on around them”.

Final Thoughts

Blackpool are looking to return to the Championship for the first time since 2015. Lincoln are looking to play in the second tier for the first time since 1961.

The game will be played at Wembley 3pm Sunday.