Preston North End will welcome Hull City to Deepdale on Boxing Day for an important contest at the bottom end of the Championship table.
The visitors moved out of the bottom three with a victory at the weekend, while their hosts are four points better off in 18th spot.
Match preview
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Preston North End return to Deepdale on Thursday aiming to bounce back to winning ways and climb up the Championship table, having seen an unbeaten run brought to an end before Christmas.
Paul Heckingbottom's side currently sit 18th in England's second tier, having earned 23 points from their first 22 outings, with their tally of four victories being the joint-fewest in the division.
They recorded a six-match undefeated streak between mid-November and mid-December, albeit only winning one of those having triumphed 2-0 away at Cardiff City after draws with Derby County, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield Wednesday.
The Lilywhites were then pegged back in injury time against second-placed Leeds United, settling for a 1-1 draw following a Jack Whatmough own goal, but they were unable to extend their unbeaten run further on Saturday, travelling to Queens Park Rangers and succumbing to a 2-1 defeat despite leading at the interval through Milutin Osmajic, as Jimmy Dunne netted the decisive goal in the 89th minute.
Left disappointed after dropping points late on in consecutive games, Preston North End will now bid to bounce back and move closer to the middle of the table with a fifth league victory of the campaign on Boxing Day.
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Their visitors, meanwhile, make the trip to Deepdale aiming to make it back-to-back league wins after moving out of the relegation zone last time out.
Hull City endured a dismal start to their Championship campaign, turning to Ruben Selles in December having earned just 15 points from their first 19 outings under Tim Walter and then the temporary stewardship of Andy Dawson.
Selles was, at least, able to end a six-match losing run in his first game at the helm, overseeing a 1-1 draw with Watford only to lose 2-1 in the following trip to Coventry City, leaving them at the foot of the table having suffered 11 defeats from their opening 21 games.
They then welcomed Swansea City to the MKM Stadium on Saturday and ended a 13-match wait for a Championship victory, having initially gone ahead through Joao Pedro and been pegged back before Mason Burstow fired the Tigers to a 2-1 win 10 minutes from time.
That victory saw the Tigers finally leap out of the Championship's bottom three, but still only leading each side in the drop zone by a single point, they will hope to build a winning run under Selles and move clear of the threat of relegation in the coming weeks.
Team News
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Preston North End head into their Boxing Day contest without defender Liam Lindsay, who is suspended after being sent off in their defeat to Queens Park Rangers last time out, while Andrew Hughes should remain confined to the treatment room.
Given those losses at the back, Patrick Bauer should come in to join Jack Whatmough and Jordan Storey in front of goalkeeper Freddie Woodman.
Ben Whiteman will hope to return to the midfield after Stefan Thordarson and Ali McCann were preferred last time out, while Milutin Osmajic will continue to lead the line after netting his fourth league goal of the season in the weekend's defeat.
Ruben Selles may opt to field an unchanged Hull City starting XI from their win last weekend, with Oscar Zambrano remaining suspended and Mohamed Belloumi, Kasey Palmer, Liam Millar and Dogukan Sinik all confined to the treatment room.
Mason Burstow does have a claim to come into the attack after netting the winner off the bench, though, while Joao Pedro will again lead the line after hitting his fourth goal of the season against Swansea.
Steven Alzate could continue alongside Regan Slater and Gustavo Puerta in the midfield, despite competition from Xavier Simons and Marvin Mehlem, while Ryan Giles should again get the nod on the left-hand side of a back four after only earning rare starts under Tim Walter.
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Storey, Whatmough, Bauer; Potts, McCann, Thordarson, Kesler-Hayden; Greenwood, Osmajic, Keane
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Pandur; Coyle, Jones, Hughes, Giles; Slater, Alzate, Puerta; Kamara, Pedro, Burstow
We say: Preston North End 1-1 Hull City
Hull City will hope to kick on after Saturday's crucial return to winning ways, but we see a share of the spoils as the most likely outcome against a Preston North End side who have drawn 11 of their 22 league games so far this term.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
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