“Experience and solidity” Derby County face tough Blackpool challenge

Derby County make the Tuesday night trip to Bloomfield Road to take on Blackpool in their 10th League One match of the season.

Paul Warne’s side make the trip sat in 12th place just one point behind Neil Critchley’s Blackpool side.

The Tangerines have won four games, lost three and drawn two. They’ve won three from their last five games and are a team that with experience and solidity are slowly in the ascendency.

At the start of the season, Blackpool had promotion ambitions after they were relegated from the Championship last year. They finished five points from safety in 23rd place.

This is manager Neil Critchley’s second spell as manager of Blackpool as he was at the helm from 2020-2022 in which time he won promotion from League One to the Championship.

He rejoined in May this year after the Tangerines were relegated and former boss Mick McCarthy left in April.

So far this season, Blackpool have shown themselves to be solid at the back, conceding the joint fewest goals in League One.

Critchley’s side tend to play a 3-5-2 formation which is similar to what Paul Warne tried to implement at Derby earlier in the season. However, the Rams have now adopted a 4-2-3-1 system.

With the help of experienced journeymen such as James Husband, Ollie Norburn and Jordan Rhodes, they are well set up to be a force in League One this season, but are yet to find their feet.

Tonight’s game will test Derby County’s strikers who have struggled to find any consistency. In thier last game, the Rams came away with a 0-0 draw against a Cambridge side who they struggled to score against despite a plethora of chances.

Paul Warne’s side will have to take their chances against a stout defensive unit in Blackpool if they are to pick up three points.

The last time the two teams met was at the start of the season in the Carabao Cup at Pride Park where the Tangerines dominated the Rams in a 2-0 victory which could have been a lot more. After the game, manager Paul Warne said: “I was really happy at the final whistle, mainly because the whistle was blown. I thought we were awful.”

In Blackpool’s last game, they put up an impressive win against a tough Barnsley side where a penalty from new signingJordan Rhodes was enough to seal the three points for Critchley’s team.

Derby will have to put in a good showing tonight if they are to come away victorious.

For more on Paul Warne’s comments ahead of the Blackpool clash, click here.