Looking to extend their unbeaten run in the second tier to three matches, Preston North End will host a struggling Coventry City side at Deepdale on Saturday afternoon in the Championship.
The Lilywhites recorded a respectable point at Turf Moor versus Burnley prior to the international break, whilst the Sky Blues fell to defeat at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday in the East Midlands.
Match preview
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Following a winless September schedule in the Championship, Preston North End collected a respectable tally of four points from two matches in October before the international pause, enjoying a three-goal success over Watford at Deepdale and a goalless draw with promotion favourites Burnley.
Despite the Clarets dominating possession in a hotly-contested Lancashire derby, the Lilywhites were able to secure a share of the points and in truth should have earned all three, with Danish striker Emil Riis Jakobsen seeing a seemingly-legal goal ruled out for offside.
Collecting a steady total of nine points from their opening nine second-tier fixtures of 2024-25, Preston are currently occupying 19th position in the Championship table, seven points behind sixth-placed Watford and just two ahead of Queens Park Rangers in the highest of the relegation spots.
After Ryan Lowe departed from the managerial hotseat early in the season, Paul Heckingbottom has lost just two of his nine competitive matches in charge to date, with the 47-year-old looking to eventually emulate his success in Yorkshire, where he guided Sheffield United to the Premier League.
Having failed to win any of their five away Championship outings so far this campaign, Preston will be delighted to know that five of their next six matches across all competitions are scheduled at their Deepdale base, including an EFL Cup fourth-round clash with Mikel Arteta's Arsenal on October 30.
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Following a ninth-placed finish in the Championship and an FA Cup semi-final appearance last season, Coventry City are currently in the second-tier trenches, winning just two of their first nine matches in the division during 2024-25, leaving them languishing in 20th position.
It appeared as if the Sky Blues had turned a corner on the first day of October as they recorded a three-goal thumping of Blackburn Rovers at the Coventry Building Society Arena, but Saturday's visitors returned to losing ways four days later, with Sheffield Wednesday snatching three points in the East Midlands.
A shining light amid a difficult start for his side as a collective, Jack Rudoni netted the opening goal of the contest for Coventry last time out, but strikes either side of the half-time interval from Djeidi Gassama and Northern Ireland international Shea Charles secured a comeback success for the Owls.
After forward duo Ellis Simms and Haji Wright bagged 29 Championship goals combined last campaign, Mark Robins's troops are struggling to consistently pose an attacking threat this time around, with USA marksman Wright (3) the only Sky Blues player to have scored more than once in the league so far.
Coventry's record against Preston has been simply woeful over the past decade, and the Lilywhites will be striving to extend their unbeaten run in this fixture to a hardly-believable 14 matches on Saturday afternoon, with the Sky Blues' most recent success against this weekend's opponents coming back in January 2013.
Team News
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Preston remain without the services of striker Milutin Osmajic, with the Montenegro international banned for a further seven matches after biting Blackburn Rovers defender Owen Beck last month.
The Lilywhites are reportedly set to be unable to call upon the talents of last season's leading marksman Will Keane for an extended period due to injury, increasing the goalscoring burden on Jakobsen.
After keeping a commendable clean sheet at Burnley prior to the two-week break, Jordan Storey and Liam Lindsay should remain as the centre-back pairing for the hosts.
Coventry's Tatsuhiro Sakamoto could be back in contention this weekend, with the Japanese winger enduring a torrid 2024 so far due to multiple injury setbacks.
The Sky Blues are without midfielder Jamie Allen, meaning that Ben Sheaf and Josh Eccles should retain their spots in the engine room despite defeat last time out.
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Kesler-Hayden, Linday, Storey, Hughes; Whiteman, McCann, Potts, Frokjaer-Jensen, Brady; Jakobsen
Coventry City possible starting lineup:
Wilson; Van Ewijk, Thomas, Kitching, Bidwell; Sheaf, Eccles, Mason-Clark, Rudoni, Wright; Simms
We say: Preston North End 1-0 Coventry City
Preston enjoyed a productive start to October prior to the international break and should be confident of continuing their positive momentum this weekend.
Coventry are yet to earn a Championship win on the road this season, and we do not expect the out-of-form Sky Blues to halt that winless run in Lancashire.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
