blackpool vs exeter city — Two teams fighting for survival will meet on Friday when Blackpool welcome Exeter City to Bloomfield Road in a fixture that could decide which side slips closer to relegation. The game pits a Blackpool side that moved out of the bottom four after a stoppage-time winner against Burton on Saturday against an Exeter team that has not won in 14 league matches. The match matters because both clubs sit perilously close in the League One table and are scrambling for points.
Blackpool Vs Exeter City: form, table and head-to-head
Blackpool currently sit 20th in the League One table and are two points above Exeter, who slipped into the relegation zone last weekend. Blackpool have picked up recent momentum — unbeaten in their last three matches with wins over Port Vale and Burton and a draw with second-placed Cardiff City. CJ Hamilton supplied the stoppage-time winner against Burton on Saturday.
Exeter arrive in poor form: without a win in their last 14 league games, they did earn a point against Leyton Orient last weekend that interim manager Matt Taylor described as the “first time we’ve been on top of a team like that for a long time, ” while lamenting a lack of “real clinical moments” in the final third. Exeter have failed to score in four of their last five matches and possess a particularly poor away record, with only four road wins this season.
Head-to-head history offers fresh angles. Blackpool have lost just one of their last seven league meetings with Exeter (W4 D2) and have scored two or more goals in five of those fixtures. Exeter won the reverse fixture earlier this season by 4-1 — the first league victory they have taken over Blackpool — and will be seeking a first-ever league double over the Seasiders. Additional patterns include Blackpool’s poor run on Good Friday fixtures at home and Exeter’s mixed away sequence: an unbeaten start away in January and February of 2026 (W1 D4) was followed by three away defeats in March. Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
Immediate reactions
Ian Evatt, manager of Blackpool, reflected on the recent victory and the mood in the dressing room, saying the team “deserved to win” after the stoppage-time goal by CJ Hamilton. Evatt’s comment underlines the boost Blackpool have taken from the late result and the sell-out home crowd that witnessed it.
Matt Taylor, interim manager of Exeter City, stressed the small margins affecting his side, framing last weekend’s draw as a sign of progress but urging more composure in attack. He warned that clinical finishing remains a clear shortfall for Exeter as they chase their first win in months.
What to watch and likely lineups
Key selection and fitness issues will shape the contest. Blackpool are set to welcome back goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell from international duty, with Karoy Anderson also returning from overseas staff commitments though only Peacock-Farrell is likely to start. Oliver Casey and Josh Bowler picked up knocks against Burton and could be replaced.
Exeter hope goalkeeper Joe Whitworth will be fit after an injury; Jack Bycroft is available to deputise if needed. Timur Tutierov and Josh Magennis return from international duty and may influence the starting XI, with Tutierov likely to come into contention.
Projected starting XIs listed in the build-up show Blackpool lining up with Peacock-Farrell; Walters, Horsfall, Husband; Hamilton, Honeyman, Brown, Randall, Coulson; Fletcher, Bloxham. Exeter’s set appears as Bycroft; McMillan, Sweeney, Woodhouse, Andrew; Cummins, McDonald; Niskanen, Cole, Tutierov; Wareham.
blackpool vs exeter city closes as a fixture that could reshape the relegation picture: both clubs will test immediate survival credentials and small margins — late goals, fitness calls and finishing — are likely to decide which side takes the vital three points and which side heads deeper into the fight for safety.
