Preston North End will be bidding to extend their unbeaten Championship streak to nine matches when they host West Bromwich Albion at Deepdale.
At a time when the home side head into Saturday's contest sitting in third position in the standings, West Brom are down in 13th spot courtesy of three successive draws.
Match preview
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Such has been Preston's results during 2022-23 that there was plenty of disappointment which was associated the 1-1 draw at Rotherham United last weekend.
Ryan Lowe's side took a six-match winning streak to the home of one of the poorest-performing clubs in the division and had to come from behind to earn a share of the spoils.
In the long run, though, Preston will be delighted with their start, collecting 20 points from eight games and already holding a seven-point advantage over seventh position.
However, back-to-back trips to Leicester City and Ipswich Town are on the horizon after this fixture, increasingly the importance of this encounter in the short term.
Lowe will point to the long game if any pressure is put on his team, yet he will recognise that their results before the international break could prove pivotal.
From West Brom's perspective, head coach Carlos Corberan can claim to be doing an adequate job in the Baggies dugout at a time when off-the-field issues threaten to disrupt their season.
Unless a new owner is found by January, they face the prospect of a fire-sale of players, but the Spaniard will want to focus on establishing a margin above the bottom three.
That currently stands at five points, despite just two wins coming from eight games, although the West Midlands outfit have prevailed in just one of their last six outings.
Furthermore, Corberan's side are yet to win away from The Hawthorns this season, although positives can be taken from three draws in succession on their travels.
Team News
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Despite the disappointment of only drawing with Rotherham, Lowe may not feel inclined to tinker with his Preston XI.
While Will Keane has rejoined training this week, he is not expected to be thrown back into the starting lineup for this contest.
If a change is made, Ben Whiteman, Mads Frokjaer-Jensen and Liam Millar are most likely to be brought back into the team.
John Swift and Jed Wallace are both pushing to feature for West Brom, with one of them in line to replace Jeremy Sarmiento.
Although Corberan has options if he wants to make alterations in defence and midfield, he may opt against any changes on the back of keeping a clean sheet versus Millwall.
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; Potts, McCann, Ledson, Brady; Holmes, Browne; Osmajic
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Palmer; Ajayi, Bartley, Pieters; Phillips, Molumby, Mowatt, Townsend; Wallace, Diangana; Thomas-Asante
We say: Preston North End 1-0 West Bromwich Albion
West Brom arguably had the more notable result of these two teams last weekend, it unclear how Preston will react to dropping points at Rotherham. However, they deserve respect for their previous winning streak, and we feel that they may edge this fixture with a win and clean sheet.
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Top tip
Darren Plant
