Looking to stay on the coattails of the top-six places in the league standings, Preston North End will do battle with a relegation-threatened Stoke City side on Saturday afternoon at Deepdale in the Championship.
The Lilywhites saw their fixture at promotion-chasing Southampton postponed on Wednesday evening, whilst the Potters were unable to halt the Leeds United juggernaut at Elland Road a day earlier.
Match preview
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Preston were starved of the opportunity to extend their unbeaten run in the Championship to eight matches on Wednesday night, when their game at Russell Martin's Southampton was cancelled due to a fire at a nearby warehouse, meaning that the fixture was unable to be fulfilled on safety grounds.
Consequently, the Lilywhites will have enjoyed a full week to recover ahead of the weekend following last Saturday's Deepdale clash against fellow top-six hopefuls Hull City, who - despite signing a host of attacking talent in January - were unable to breach the net of Freddie Woodman, leading to a goalless draw.
As a run of three wins in 17 matches has been pushed to the back of supporters' memories by an unbeaten February, calls for the sacking of Preston boss Ryan Lowe have died down significantly, with the Liverpudlian recently being nominated for February's Manager of the Month award alongside the likes of Marti Cifuentes and Liam Rosenior.
Wednesday's postponement on the South Coast means that the Lilywhites have now played a game fewer than all of their playoff rivals, with Saturday's hosts currently sitting ninth in the Championship standings, four points behind Hull City, who have failed to win either of their last two contests.
In a team that struggles to net goals at a rate of a side typically pushing for the Premier League, Will Keane is enjoying the best second-tier goalscoring form of his career in 2023-24, with the 31-year-old netting 12 times in 27 league appearances, already matching his tally from last term whilst at Wigan Athletic.
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After recording a much-needed 2-0 victory over Michael Carrick's Middlesbrough in Staffordshire on the weekend, Stoke travelled up to the home of Daniel Farke's Leeds in hope more than expectation of back-to-back wins, and Tuesday night largely followed the script as the Whites ran out as victors.
The Potters did not disgrace themselves on the night, but the hosts were deserving of the three points to stretch their unbeaten run in the Championship to 11 matches, with former Swansea City and Manchester United speedster Daniel James netting the only goal of the contest in the first half.
The replacement of Alex Neil by ex-Plymouth Argyle boss Steven Schumacher in December has not paid dividends for Stoke as the campaign approaches its business end, with the West Midlands club currently languishing in the relegation zone of the second-tier table, behind 21st-placed Huddersfield Town on goals scored.
Having lost four-straight Championship away fixtures since the end of January, the travelling contingent at Deepdale on Saturday will not be expecting maximum points, with Stoke's only away success this calendar year coming at the AESSEAL New York Stadium against bottom side Rotherham United on January 13.
Each of the last four meetings between Preston and Stoke have gone the way of the visitors, meaning that the Staffordshire team were successful during their most-recent trip to Deepdale in January 2023, when goals from Tyrese Campbell and William Smallbone secured a two-goal win.
Team News
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Preston's Brad Potts is edging closer to a return from a hamstring injury, but it is likely that he will stay out until after the international break as the club's medical team err on the side of caution.
Ched Evans faces a race to be available again before the conclusion of the campaign, with the striker missing the last nine matches due to a knee issue.
Full-back Kian Best was enjoying a breakthrough season in the Lilywhites side before sustaining an ankle injury at the start of February, so Basel loanee Liam Millar will continue at wing-back on Saturday afternoon.
After receiving his marching orders in Stoke's defeat at Elland Road on Tuesday night, ex-Preston midfielder Ben Pearson will be suspended for the trip to Deepdale.
The Potters have been boosted by the returns of Luke McNally and Enda Stevens to training on Thursday morning following their respective injuries, but neither are expected to feature this weekend.
Schumacher's options in defence are further limited by the absence of Junior Tchamadeu, who has missed the last two matches because of a knock.
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; Browne, Whiteman, McCann, Millar; Keane, Frokjaer-Jensen, Jakobsen
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Iversen; Hoever, Rose, Wilmot, Gooch; Laurent, Burger, Baker; Vidigal, Bae, Campbell
We say: Preston North End 2-1 Stoke City
Preston are enjoying their longest unbeaten run since the beginning of the campaign and will be raring to go after Wednesday night's postponement in Southampton.
Stoke face another daunting away trip following their visit to Leeds on Tuesday, and we feel that the Potters will struggle to match the Lilywhites physically at Deepdale, resulting in defeat for Schumacher's charges.
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Carter White
