Match Preview: Sunderland v Blackpool - all you need to know ahead of kick-off!

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Tuesday 4th October 2022

(8th) Sunderland v Blackpool (19th)

Championship

Stadium of Light

Kick-Off: 19:45

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Tickets & Match Coverage

Tickets: Tickets available at Sunderland AFC - SAFC.

TV/Stream: Full live match coverage available via Sky Sports via the red button and via Sunderland AFC - SAFC.

Radio: Full live match commentary available via BBC Radio Newcastle (not online)

Don’t forget to follow the blow-by-blow account of the game on the Roker Report Twitter feed (@RokerReport) and check out the player ratings after the full-time whistle at www.RokerReport.com!

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The build-up...

Blackpool are the visitors to the Stadium of Light tonight and oddly it’s the first time we have met in the second tier since 1977-78. During that season, we collected four points against Blackpool, with a 2-1 win at Roker in December 1977 through a brace from Gary Rowell.

Since then, our record against Blackpool in league competition hasn’t made for pleasant reading, with three draws and two defeats since that last victory on home soil over the Tangerines back in 1977.

Back to the present day, and tonight presents a useful opportunity to collect three more points that will in turn make Saturday’s draw against Preston look like more of a point gained than two lost.

Four points would provide a good return from two games at the Stadium of Light in four days, where two or even one point from six may look like more of a missed opportunity.

Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images

It was a successful return to the Championship last season after six years in the bottom two divisions, where they finished 16th with a healthy gap between themselves and the drop.

This time around sees them in a similar position after eleven games, sitting 19th and only a point above the relegation zone, but typically for the Championship, they could cut the gap between themselves and us to only two points with victory tonight.

Their general form provides reason for concern with four defeats and only one win in the last five, but it appears to be their form away from home that is keeping them afloat with two victories and a draw from six games.

That being said, only three sides have conceded more goals on the road than Michael Appleton’s side this term, which is hopefully something we can take full advantage of tonight.

Photo by Alex Dodd - CameraSport via Getty Images

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The betting...

The bookies have the Lads as favourites tonight at 3/1 for the win, with Blackpool priced at 7/1 to pick up all three points and the draw is 15/4.

For a correct score, a 1-1 draw is the shortest odds at 24/5, followed by 6/1 for a 1-0 home win and a 1-0 away victory is 9/1.

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Head to head... at Sunderland

(All competitions)

• Sunderland wins: 17
• Draws: 9
• Blackpool wins: 7
• Sunderland goals: 54
• Blackpool goals: 38

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Last time we met... at the Stadium of Light

Saturday 27th April 2021

Sky Bet League One

Sunderland 0-1 Blackpool

[Kaikai 56’]

Sunderland: Burge, Power, O’Nien, Wright, Hume, Gooch, Leadbitter (Jones), Scowen (Winchester), McGeady, O’Brien (Stewart) Wyke Substitutes not used: Matthews, McFadzean, Diamond, Maguire

Blackpool: Maxwell, Turton, Garbutt, Ballard, Thorniley, Husband, Ward (Stewart), Dougall, Yates, Kaikai (Mitchell), Robson Substitutes not used: Moore, Lawrence-Gabriel, Ekpiteta, Holmes, Simms

Photo by Mark Fletcher/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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Played for both...

Anton Rogan

The Belfast-born defender began his career at Celtic in the late 1980’s and following well over a century of appearances made the move south when Denis Smith splashed out some of the money received from the sale of Marco Gabbiadini in 1991.

After two years at Roker, Rogan moved on to Oxford United where he spent two years also, a feat he repeated at Millwall and Blackpool before retiring in 1999.

Getty Images

Paul Stewart

Stewart began his career at Blackpool in the early 1980’s and made over 200 appearances before a big move to Manchester City in 1987, which led to an even bigger move to Tottenham Hotspur only a year later for £1.7 million.

After four successful years at Spurs, that included being capped twice for England, Stewart moved to Liverpool in 1992, a move that didn’t quite work out but after a few loan moves, Peter Reid eventually brought him to Roker Park in 1995.

Following our relegation from the Premier League in 1997, Stewart made the move to Stoke City before seeing his career out at Workington until retiring in 2000.

Photo by Neal Simpson/EMPICS via Getty Images

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