Blackpool FC v West Ham United
Blackpool will be without Gary Taylor-Fletcher after the forward suffered a knee injury during Saturday's 2-0 defeat to Everton.
The 30-year-old was stretched off after colliding with Toffees goalkeeper Tim Howard and left Goodison Park on crutches while wearing a protective support on his leg.
Seasiders boss Ian Holloway, who is also set to be without Alex Baptiste after the full-back needed stitches in a leg wound picked up at the weekend, is awaiting the results of a scan on Taylor-Fletcher with trepidation.
"You always fear the worse when one of your lads get injured," he told the Blackpool Gazette. "Fletch's kneecap and thigh were going one way and the lower part of his leg was knocked back the other way - that normally means some ligament damage.
"Fletch's knee is badly swollen and very sore. He has a cast on it and when it settles down we will see how he is. I have never seen anything like it in my life."
Holloway hopes to have Matt Phillips back in contention following the winger's two-match absence with a hamstring problem.
West Ham must do so without suspended duo Matt Taylor and Kevin Nolan.
Skipper Nolan serves the second game of a three-match ban following his dismissal in the derby against Millwall at the start of the month.
Left-winger Taylor begins a three-game suspension of his own after he was sent off in the 1-1 draw with Southampton.
Victory would move the Hammers above the Saints and manager Sam Allardyce believes his squad is capable of coping without Nolan and Taylor.
Recent signing Ravel Morrison captained the development squad to a 2-1 victory over QPR on Friday but Allardyce admits the former Manchester United prodigy will have to wait for his first-team bow.
Defender Guy Demel (thigh) could be included but midfielder Papa Bouba Diop (hamstring) is definitely out.
Venue: Bloomfield Road
Date: Tuesday 21 February
Kick-off: 2000 GMT
Coverage: Watch highlights on The Football League Show; listen on BBC Radio 5 live and BBC local radio;
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TEAM NEWS
Blackpool will be without Gary Taylor-Fletcher for the visit of West Ham after suffering a knee injury during Saturday's 2-0 Cup defeat at Everton.
Full-back Alex Baptiste is also set to miss out but the Seasiders should have Matt Phillips (hamstring) back.
Victory will see the Hammers return to the top of the Championship, but Sam Allardyce's men are without suspended duo Matt Taylor and Kevin Nolan.
Guy Demel (thigh) could be included but Papa Bouba Diop (hamstring) is out.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
• These clubs have been playing each other for 105 years; West Ham have won 22, Blackpool 17, with 13 of the 52 competitive matches finishing level.
• The Hammers have won five and drawn two of their last seven league matches against Blackpool and have scored a total of seven goals in winning the last two.
• The Seasiders last beat West Ham in the league in 1966, but have prevailed once over them in the FA Cup since then, by virtue of a 4-0 third round triumph at Bloomfield Road in January 1971.
Blackpool
• Victory would see Blackpool climb two places to third in the table, two points outside the top two.
• Ian Holloway's club are one of three still unbeaten in the Championship in 2012. They have not lost in seven league games. Only Birmingham have a longer current unbeaten run at this level, of 10 matches.
• The second highest goal scorers in the second tier (52 goals in 31 games), have netted just once in the first 15 minutes, and have hit an unmatched 20 in the last quarter-hour of Championship games.
West Ham United
• A fifth win in seven league matches and an unrivalled 18th of the Championship season will see West Ham return to the top of the table. They are currently two points behind Southampton in second.
• The Hammers still boast the best away record in the division, with 27 points out of 45.
• Sam Allardyce held his first major managerial post at Blackpool, where he was in charge for two seasons from July 1994.
Last edited by Admin on Mon Feb 20, 2012 5:24 pm; edited 15 times in total
Blackpool are on fire at the moment in the league where as we are not so we are going to have to be at our very best in defence and take any chances we get our way to stand any chance of getting a point let alone 3points. Hoping BFS starts with a 442 again like we did against Blackpool early on in the season as that formation seem to open blackpool up alot in that game with their 433 formation , Hoping he starts with this team tuesday night :
See you guys later 
