Blackpool manager Ian Holloway has no fresh injury worries
ahead of Manchester City's visit to Bloomfield Road on Sunday.
Matt Gilks (leg), Neal Eardley (ankle) and Craig Cathcart
(back) were forced out of international duty with Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland respectively but have all recovered.
Keith Southern will be pushing for a start after returning
to full fitness following a knee injury while Billy Clarke, Alex Baptiste (both
knee) and Louis Almond (shoulder) remain on the sidelines.
Holloway described City's trip to Blackpool as probably
"the biggest mismatch in the history of football".
Roberto Mancini's multi-millionaires visit Bloomfield Road
for the first time in the Barclays Premier League with the sides only four
points apart following Blackpool's stunning start to the season.
The Seasiders have won three away games, most recently against
Liverpool at Anfield two weeks ago, and are now looking for their first home
victory of the season.
They will have fewer tougher tests than City, who currently
sit second in the table and on track to qualify for the Champions League for
the first time.
Holloway said: "They've got fantastically wealthy
owners, they were the biggest spenders by a mile this summer and they're hoping
that will buy them all sorts of success and trophies.
"And then there's us trying to stay in the division and
trying to hang on to our new-found heights, so to speak.
"To me it's just one team against another, but from an
outsider's point of view, it probably is the biggest mismatch in the history of
football, but let's see what we can do."
Blackpool have provided the surprise story of the Premier
League so far, and they have achieved their results without Holloway
compromising his commitment to attacking football.
But he knows it is their work ethic that is the Tangerines'
biggest asset, and he has stressed to his players that there must be no let-up
on Sunday.
"If we don't work hard on Sunday I can tell you what
the score's going to be," he said.
"I can't tell you how many it will be, but Manchester
City will win."
Mancini has declared Jerome Boateng fit to face Holloway's
side.
Boateng missed Germany's midweek encounter with Kazakhstan
after picking up a virus but has now recovered and is expected to feature at
Bloomfield Road.
Micah Richards and Pablo Zabaleta have both recovered from
hamstring injuries but Mario Balotelli (knee) and Aleksandar Kolarov (ankle)
will be missing for another 10 days.
Mancini has warned his City players they must deliver a
performance better than the one they produced against Chelsea.
Either Mancini was the victim of a wind-up or he had his
tongue stuck firmly in his cheek when he claimed Sunday's visit to Blackpool
had been likened to a day out in Rimini.
Yet he was being deadly serious when he assessed the
challenge that lies ahead.
"I have watched Blackpool three or four times and this
will be a very tough game," the City manager said.
"I have a lot of respect for them. If we want to win
there we must play better than we did against Chelsea."
Mancini has a lot of admiration for the positive approach
Holloway has ensured his side adopt, even on the toughest of away days.
"They play good football," acknowledged Mancini.
"What I like is that they don't just defend and wait
for something to happen just because they don't want to concede a goal.
"They play in a different way because they want to
score.
"That is a good thing for the manager. And the manager
is good anyway."
Source: DSG