Williams starts: The strongest Blackpool XI Appleton can field as Reading clash looms | OneFootball

Blackpool will be aiming to make a positive start to the 2022/23 campaign in the Championship later this month under the guidance of head coach Michael Appleton.

The Seasiders are set to host Reading at Bloomfield Road on July 30th.

Following Neil Critchley’s decision to join the coaching set-up at Aston Villa, Blackpool opted to hand over the reins to Appleton in June.

Since Appleton’s return to the club, Blackpool have managed to bolster their squad by securing the services of Lewis Fiorini and Rhys Williams on loan deals from Manchester City and Liverpool.

It will be interesting to see whether these two players will be handed their competitive debuts by Appleton in the club’s upcoming showdown with Reading.

Here, we have decided to take a look at what we believe is the strongest XI that the Blackpool boss can currently field in this particular fixture…

When you consider that Michael Appleton has preferred to use the 4-3-3 formation during his managerial career, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see him deploy this system against Reading.

Daniel Grimshaw could be given the nod to start in this clash ahead of fellow goalkeeper Chris Maxwell.

Appleton recently revealed that the keeper he decides to select for Blackpool’s pre-season friendly with Everton this weekend will go on to feature against Reading.

With James Husband and Jordan Gabriel both expected to miss the start of the season due to injuries, Luke Garbutt and Rob Apter could potentially operate in the full-back roles in this upcoming clash.

Rhys Williams may also be in line to feature in Blackpool’s back-line alongside Marvin Ekpiteta who averaged an impressive WhoScored match rating of 7.06 in the Championship last season.

Williams made five appearances for Swansea City at this level earlier this year during a loan spell with the Welsh club and will be determined to make strides in terms of his development at Blackpool.

Providing that the defender is able to make an encouraging start to the new term, he could eventually become a key player for the Seasiders.

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Callum Connolly has been deployed in a defensive midfield role in pre-season and could feature in this position alongside Fiorini and Kenny Dougall who played 40 games in the second-tier for Blackpool last season.

Keshi Anderson and Josh Bowler will provide width in this formation whilst Shayne Lavery is expected to lead the line.

Directly involved in 11 goals in all competitions in the previous term, Lavery will be hoping to mark the start of the new season by scoring against Reading.