Preston North End will welcome Cardiff City to Deepdale on Saturday for an important contest at the top end of the Championship table.
Following the latest international break, the hosts find themselves fifth on the back of consecutive victories, while their visitors are just four points worse off in ninth spot and within touching distance of the playoffs.
Match preview
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In what has been a mixed start to the Championship season on the whole under Ryan Lowe, Preston North End will return to action following the November international break on a high on Saturday, having climbed back into the playoff places earlier this month.
After enjoying a dream start, winning six of their opening seven league outings and drawing the other to sit top, the Lancashire outfit then had to endure a seven-match winless run between late September and late October, amassing just three more points along the way and dropping out of the top six as a result.
With pressure building at Deepdale, the Lilywhites were then able to make a crucial return to winning ways at the beginning of the month, when they hosted Coventry City and triumphed 3-2 thanks to goals from Duane Holmes, Alan Browne and Milutin Osmajic, before most recently making the short trip to rivals Blackburn Rovers and taking the bragging rights to make it back-to-back three-point hauls once again.
Browne had Lowe's side ahead at Ewood Park but the game looked set to end level following Sammie Szmodics's leveller, only for Liam Lindsay to pop up with a 90th-minute winner and seal his team's eighth league victory of the campaign.
Following their slump, the consecutive wins have seen Preston North End climb back up to fifth spot in England's second tier, and only trailing fourth-placed Southampton by two points while leading Sunderland, West Bromwich Albion and Hull City by the same margin, they will know they cannot afford to let up and will be desperate to pick up where they left off with another three-point haul at Deepdale on Saturday.
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In their way stand a Cardiff City side who also have their sights set on the top six, having only fallen behind their hosts soon before the break.
In their first season under the management of Erol Bulut, Cardiff City have certainly enjoyed an encouraging start, collecting 24 points from their first 16 outings and sitting ninth on their return to action as a result.
The Bluebirds passed the 20-point mark with consecutive 4-0 and 2-0 victories over Huddersfield Town and Bristol City respectively in late October, but they were unable to extend a winning run any further in the final two outings before the break, firstly settling for a point from a goalless draw away at Stoke City.
Bulut's men then played host to Norwich City last time out and saw their gap to the top six increase, despite looking set to triumph until late on, as they led 2-1 through Josh Bowler and Callum Robinson, only for a Ryan Wintle own goal to level the scores eight minutes from time before Adam Idah quickly netted the winner for the visitors.
Having now quickly dropped to ninth spot, but remaining within touching distance of the top six and within four points of Saturday's hosts, Cardiff will be keen to return to winning ways sooner rather than later and will go in search of an eighth Championship victory of the campaign at the weekend.
Team News
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The international break may not have done much to help Preston North End's extensive injury issues, with defenders Andrew Hughes, Jack Whatmough and Greg Cunningham, midfielder Ali McCann and forward Emil Riis all likely remaining confined to the treatment room, while winger Liam Millar is a fresh injury concern and may also miss out at the weekend.
In his expected absence, Robbie Brady will likely come in from the start on the left-hand side in their 3-4-3 shape, while 18-year-old Kian Best should again join mainstays Liam Lindsay and Jordan Storey in a back three.
Elsehwere, summer signings Milutin Osmajic and Will Keane should continue to play key roles in the front line, having netted three and four league goals respectively so far this term, while Duane Holmes and Mads Frokjaer-Jensen also boast three each and will fight for the final spot, with captain Alan Browne offering further attacking support from midfield.
Erol Bulut should certainly field a similar starting XI to the one that turned out for Cardiff City before the break against Norwich, despite their defeat, with midfielder Aaron Ramsey remaining sidelined by injury alongside Callum O'Dowda while it is yet to be seen whether key defender Perry Ng will return to contention in time to feature at Deepdale.
If he is not deemed fit to start, Mahlon Romeo should again line up on the right-hand side of the back four in their 4-2-3-1 shape, with Dimitrios Goutas and Mark McGuinness bound to partner up at the heart of the defence while Emmanouil Siopis will hope to again get the nod alongside captain Joe Ralls in midfield amid competition from Ryan Wintle.
Ahead of them, there is competition for attacking spots with Yakou Meite, Ike Ugbo and Kion Etete fighting to lead the line, while Karlan Grant and Josh Bowler should again start on the wings with Callum Robinson likely to complete the front line against the club for whom he netted 41 goals in 160 appearances between 2016 and 2019.
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Storey, Lindsay, Best; Potts, Whiteman, Browne, Brady; Holmes, Osmajic, Keane
Cardiff City possible starting lineup:
Alnwick; Romeo, McGuinness, Goutas, Collins; Siopis, Ralls; Bowler, Robinson, Grant; Ugbo
We say: Preston North End 2-1 Cardiff City
The two sides boast similar levels of quality and certainly have the tools to hurt one another in what should be an entertaining encounter.
Even given their growing injury list, Preston should be full of confidence having returned to form before the break, and we give them the slight edge at Deepdale this weekend.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
