'Little bit of pressure': Blackpool boss Neil Critchley makes this Sunderland prediction ahead of key League One clash

Blackpool manager Neil Critchley believes Sunderland could be under a ‘little bit of pressure’ to bounce back from successive defeats when they head to Bloomfield Road on Saturday.
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The Black Cats have lost to Charlton and Wigan Athletic in their last two outings, with their automatic promotion hopes dented as a result.

And while Critchley believes Sunderland arguably have one of the strongest squads in the division, he has urged his Blackpool side to ‘go for it’ this weekend.

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"You never know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing,” he said, when quizzed on Sunderland’s stuttering form.

Neil CritchleyNeil Critchley
Neil Critchley

“Good teams don’t often lose twice on the bounce, but they are a good team. You only have to look at the strength of their depth, it is arguably the strongest in the division when you look at who they’ve got on the bench. It’s what you class as an automatic promotion team.

“To lose two on the bounce, they won’t want to make it a hat-trick but maybe there is a little bit of pressure on them as well.

“We can look forward to a really good game on Saturday and we can go for it.”

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Blackpool will be forced into at least one change for the clash with the Wearsiders, with on-loan midfielder Elliot Embleton ineligible to face his parent club.

And Critchley has joked that he may have to lock away the 22-year-old so as to prevent him from hearing the Pool’s game plan.

“He will be a miss because he’s been excellent in the last few games,” Critchley told The Blackpool Gazette.

“He took a knock towards the end of the game on Tuesday night (0-0 draw against Accrington Stanley) and he’s got some ice on his knee, so hopefully that’s not too serious.

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“He carried on though and he didn’t look in too much bother.

“He’s been excellent for us, but I shall have to think about what he’s going to do for the next few days when we’re putting our plan together - I might have to make sure he’s sitting in a dark room somewhere.”

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