Notts County host Blackpool at Meadow Lane on 26 September 2026 in Matchweek 8 of the 2026/27 EFL League One season, a fixture pushed back from earlier in the month after international call-ups thinned both squads. County sit 20th after seven games following their League Two play off promotion last season and Blackpool are only marginally better off in 15th, arriving with an advantage of one point and a manager who joined in October 2025 and has had less than a year to reshape the squad. Martin Paterson and Ian Evatt have never faced each other as managers, which adds a small extra wrinkle to what is already a game both sides need.
County have taken seven points from their opening seven games and Blackpool eight from theirs, which makes this a match between two teams equally unsure of what they actually are this season. The international break and postponement handed both some extra preparation time, though it is hard to know whether that helps more when you are confident or when you are still working things out.
Paterson has been in charge since June 2025, when he replaced Stuart Maynard, whereas Evatt took over at Blackpool last autumn. Both managers get to pick from their full squads, good news for Paterson in particular, letting him call on the same promotion winning group rather than improvising around gaps.
County's approach in League Two relied on keeping the ball and making opponents chase the game but League One sides press higher and close quicker, which means their midfield has had to be more composed on the ball than they have sometimes looked across these opening seven matches. Evatt has had more time to implement his ideas at Blackpool but an eight point haul from seven games suggests things are still taking shape there too. With both squads available and a longer preparation window than usual, each side will have had time to work on set piece routines, though neither team has given any particular reason to think dead ball situations will decide this one specifically.
These clubs do not meet often enough for the history to carry much weight. The most recent league encounters came in the 2016/17 League Two season, when Blackpool won 4-0 away but County took the home fixture 1-0 - mildly interesting, mostly irrelevant.
Notts County 2-1 Blackpool. County sit 20th after seven games, are at home with a settled squad and cannot afford to keep waiting for their first League One win at Meadow Lane. Blackpool are good enough to score on the counter and they probably will but the case for County is straightforward: they have home advantage, everyone available and the most pressing reason to push for three points.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
