Bournemouth - Blackpool, English Division 2
2004-03-24 20.45 CET
Pick: Bournemouth
Stake: 3%
Odds: 1,66
Final reason for bet
· Bournemouth is in good form.
· The motivation must be high for the Bournemouth players since a win tonight will put them on a playoff spot.
· Bournemouth is very good playing at home.
· Blackpool has some important players missing through injuries.
General comment about the game
Bournemouth welcomes Blackpool to one of two division two displays this evening. Bournemouth is one of the strongest home teams in the league for the moment with six straight wins. Last weekend Bournemouth played away to Sheffield Wednesday a game ending in a Bournemouth victory with 2-0. This was the first victory on the road for them for ten rounds. Their recent good form with only one defeat from the last eleven matches played has put them right back as playoff candidates. If they manage to win tonight they will move up to sixth and last playoff place. The victory against Sheffield was achieved after two goals in the first half by Carl and Steve Fletcher. Bournemouth started the game in good spirit and quite immediately they created the first chances. And as stated the goals did not have to wait; after 20 minutes it was already 2-0. Bournemouth had some extra chances in the first half to extend the lead but was unable to score. In the end of the second half Sheffield managed to put the guests under pressure but after some good savings from goalkeeper Neil Moss the game ended 2-0. Ahead of this game skipper Carl Fletcher (33 apps, 1 goal) is suspended after picking up ten yellow cards during the season. We have checked the importance of Carl Fletcher and from the other three games played when he has been missing, Bournemouth has taken one point. However the two defeats came against top teams Bristol City and Swindon in the end of last year. We must consider that these losses came when Bournemouth played without confidence which reflected their results during that period. Against Swindon they started the match quite well and were also 1-0 up before Swindon turned the match around and won by 2-1. The third match that Bournemouth has played without their skipper was a goalless encounter at home against Grimsby. Bournemouth was the better team and should have won. When skipper Fletcher will be missing tonight former injured players defender Karl Broadhurst (28(2) apps, 1 goal) or midfielder Jason Tindell (2(13) apps) will replace him. On the positive side for Bournemouth is that on loan midfielder Claus Jorgensen (8(1) apps) from Coventry will stay another month.
As mentioned in previous analysis Blackpool is a typical mid table team that very seldom take points on road when playing against good opponents. Last away game was against promotion hopefuls Luton in a game that the host won by 3-2. Luton totally dominated the game until the last thrilling 30 minutes. The host were also rightfully 2-0 up before Blackpool got a penalty that they fired home. This was their first shoot on goal. A few minutes after that Luton scored again and the match seemed to be over. However, Blackpool substitute Matthew Blinkhorn wanted something else and scored just a few minutes after. Luton managed to hold on and earned a well deserved victory. In the game after that Blackpool played at home to struggling Brentford. Blackpool performed badly by letting the visitors travel home with a well deserved point. During the weekend Blackpool played in the LDV cup final and they won 2-0 over division three side Southend. Blackpool started best and was up 1-0 already after two minutes. They then had some other brilliant tries in the first half but the result stood. In the second half Blackpool doubled the lead already after 10 minutes. Both sides then had a couple of chances but the final touch was missing so Blackpool won the title. To this game there are still some injured players in the Blackpool squad. Most important is leading goal scorer Scott Taylor (30(1) apps, 16 goals). Defenders Gareth Evans (21(2) apps, 0 goal) and Kirk Hilton (12(2) apps, 1 goal) is also out while defender Chris Clarke (11(7) apps, 1 goal) will be included in the squad after injury. However since he lacks match fitness he is not expected in the starting line up.
With Bournemouth’s current form in mind and especially their home form we believe that they will strengthen their promotion bid tonight and win over Blackpool. Even if Bournemouth will miss their skipper Blackpool’s injury concerns are greater since a number of players will be missed. Medium stake 3%.
Recent games for home team
|
2004-03-17 |
Sheffield W- Bournemouth |
0-2 |
|
2004-03-13 |
Grimsby-Bournemouth |
1-1 |
|
2004-03-06 |
Bournemouth –Wycombe |
1-0 |
|
2004-02-28 |
Bournemouth –Oldham |
1-0 |
|
2004-02-24 |
Bournemouth -Wrexham |
6-0 |
Recent games for away team
|
2004-03-16 |
Blackpool-Brentford |
1-1 |
|
2004-03-13 |
Luton-Blackpool |
3-2 |
|
2004-03-06 |
Blackpool-Port Vale |
2-1 |
|
2004-03-02 |
Rushden-Blackpool |
0-0 |
|
2004-02-28 |
Blackpool-Plymouth |
0-1 |
Home table
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Bournemouth |
18 |
11 |
5 |
2 |
30-15 |
38 |
Away table
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Blackpool |
18 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
21-29 |
21 |
Links for this game
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// SportsObserver 040324
