Following their 2-1 win at Pride Park, City have advanced to round two of the Carabao Cup and will now make the journey to Bloomfield Road to face Blackpool on Tuesday 25 August (7:45pm KO).
Read all the key stats, match information and thoughts of head coach, Tom Shaw and Imps forward, Mason Melia, ahead of the clash by the seaside.
Opposition Information
Stretching back to last season, Ian Evatt’s side have won six of their last seven competitive fixtures with the only exception coming in a 1-1 draw when hosting Wycombe Wanderers in the opening fixture of the Sky Bet League One season. Included in those six successes was the 3-1 victory when travelling to Blundell Park to face Grimsby Town in round one of this competition, a game the Seasiders had control of from the third minute when Niall Ennis put them in front.
The equaliser in the aforementioned draw against Wycombe Wanderers was scored by 21-year-old Finley Munroe just four minutes after he was introduced for his debut in tangerine. The young full back is on a season-long loan from Middlesbrough after making just three appearances last season in the Sky Bet Championship. Before his time in Teesside, he spent a period on loan to Swindon Town where he was a frequent provider of goals with a total of seven assists.
It was Dion Charles who assisted that goal at Bloomfield Road, he too is a new addition to Blackpool’s squad this summer as he joins on loan from Huddersfield Town. He’s been with the Terriers for two seasons where he had a successful time, particularly in the last campaign where he contributed to nine goals in all competitions. However, his most fruitful spell came between 2022 and 2024 when he was playing for Bolton Wanderers, scoring 41 goals during that period in Sky Bet League One.
Tom Shaw said: “Blackpool away is a difficult game for anybody, we are big admirers of Ian Evatt and what he’s doing with his side, it’s always a difficult fixture up there but we want to go up and win and make sure we advance to round three of this competition.”
New Faces
So far City have brought seven new recruits to Lincolnshire during this summer window, most of whom have had impacts off the bench. The tie against Blackpool allows for a great opportunity to introduce some of the newest recruits and help them with their bedding-in process. Tom Shaw spoke about the team's full intent to advance to round three whilst also introducing some of the recent acquisitions to the starting lineup.
Shaw said: “They’ve all come in at different parts of pre-season, so all the new signings have needed to be very positive on the training ground, but we’re really excited to see some if not all of them fly against Blackpool however, it’s important to be patient.
“We speak to Liam and Jez every single day and you start off with a grand plan and what you want it to look like, and we’ve now had a feel of the Championship straight away so that will affect our thinking and what we are prioritising.”
Mason Melia’s Thoughts
Mason Melia joined the Imps at the beginning of August on a season-long loan from Tottenham Hotspur after joining the Lilywhites from St Patrick’s Athletic where he scored 23 goals in 95 games. The Ireland international has made two substitute appearances so far for City including an 11-minute stint in the 2-1 win over Derby County in this competition and he spoke ahead of the round two tie against Blackpool.
Melia said: “I’ve settled in well; everyone has been lovely and it’s a great place to be training every week.
“The club has a good history of bringing players through that have gone on to make it at the top level so hopefully they’ll be a big part of my career too.”
He added: “I need to be patient, but when I do get my opportunity, I need to make sure that I take it because that’s what I’m here for to get minutes and a bit more experience.”
H2H
The last journey to Bloomfield Road was in December, towards the beginning of City’s historic unbeaten run. The game that day finished as a 2-2 draw, it was Jack Moylan who opened the scoring in the early stages, Rob Street then doubled the Imps’ advantage just inside 20 minutes before a Lee Evans penalty and an Ashley Fletcher goal salvaged two points for the Tangerines.
The last time City returned to Lincolnshire with all three points after a trip to Blackpool was in October 2020 in another high-scoring game which ended with City emerging as 3-2 victors. CJ Hamilton put the hosts in front before Jorge Grant equalised from 12-yards out sending both teams into the interval at 1-1. In the second period it was once again the Seasiders who found the back of the net first through Demetri Mitchell before James Husband saw red for the home side and another Grant spot-kick as well as a Lewis Monstma goal sealed the victory for the Imps.
Match Information
For the first time in a competitive fixture, City will sport their anthracite away kit as they look to advance to round three of the Carabao Cup - get yours HERE.
Harry Wager will be in charge on Tuesday evening in Lancashire with Harley McKittrick and Anthony Moore as his assistants, Simon Mather will aid from the sideline as the fourth official.
Legendary broadcaster, John Helm, will provide the commentary for Imps + and he will be joined by Luke Thornhill - check out your streaming options HERE.
