One of three Championship teams hoping to spring a surprise in the last 16 of the EFL Cup, Preston North End welcome Arsenal to Deepdale for Wednesday's intriguing battle.
Paul Heckingbottom's side conquered Fulham in an astounding 31-penalty shootout in the third round to make it this far, but they host the Gunners on the back of catastrophically letting a 3-0 lead slip against Plymouth Argyle in the Championship.
Meanwhile, the Gunners made light work of Bolton Wanderers in a 5-1 dismantling in the third round, but they also failed to cling onto a couple of advantages in their 2-2 Premier League draw with Liverpool at the weekend.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two sides, who are coincidentally the only two teams in English football to ever enjoy an undefeated season.
Head-to-head record
Previous meetings: 81
Preston wins: 26
Draws: 19
Arsenal wins: 36
Formerly familiar foes during the first half of the 20th century, Arsenal and Preston will be meeting for the 82nd time in all competitions in Wednesday's EFL Cup bout, and the head-to-head column is not so one-sided as one may expect.
While the Gunners do boast more victories than Preston, the margin is not exactly significant - 36 wins for the North London crop and 26 for the Lilywhites - and another 19 battles have ended in a share of the spoils.
Since Preston lost their top-flight status all the way back in the 1960s, Arsenal and the Lilywhites have been limited to a handful of knockout battles, including one Deepdale encounter when Arsene Wenger was at the Gunners helm in 2017.
That year, Preston threatened an FA Cup giant killing in the third round when Callum Robinson put the Championship team ahead, but Aaron Ramsey came up with the leveller for the Gunners before Olivier Giroud won it with one of his famed late interventions.
That nervy success marked a third straight victory for Arsenal against PNE, whom they also bested 2-1 in the first EFL Cup showdown between the two clubs in 1999, when Kanu and forgotten man Stefan Malz were on target for the Gunners.
Several months beforehand, Preston and Arsenal were involved in a six-goal thriller in the third round of the FA Cup, as the Lilywhites raced into a two-goal lead only to succumb to strikes from Luis Boa Morte, Emmanuel Petit (two) and Marc Overmars.
However, the Championship side do lead the way when it comes to individual scorers, as no player has come up with more goals in matches between Arsenal and Preston than former Lilywhites striker Dennis Hatsell (nine), while Deepdale legend Sir Tom Finney bagged six versus the Gunners.
On a side note, the 2024-25 EFL Cup clash will mark a reunion of the only two teams in English football to ever go a full season unbeaten, Preston doing so in 1888-89 and Arsenal following suit over a century later in 2003-04.
Last 20 meetings
Jan 07, 2017: Preston 1-2 Arsenal (FA Cup Third Round)
Oct 12, 1999: Arsenal 2-1 Preston (EFL Cup Third Round)
Jan 04, 1999: Preston 2-4 Arsenal (FA Cup Third Round)
Aug 30, 1960: Preston 2-0 Arsenal (First Division)
Aug 23, 1960: Arsenal 1-0 Preston (First Division)
Mar 05, 1960: Preston 0-3 Arsenal (First Division)
Oct 17, 1959: Arsenal 0-3 Preston (First Division)
Dec 20, 1958: Arsenal 1-2 Preston (First Division)
Aug 23, 1958: Preston 2-1 Arsenal (First Division)
Apr 26, 1958: Preston 3-0 Arsenal (First Division)
Dec 14, 1957: Arsenal 4-2 Preston (First Division)
Feb 19, 1957: Arsenal 2-1 Preston (FA Cup Fifth Round Replay)
Feb 16, 1957: Preston 3-3 Arsenal (FA Cup Fifth Round)
Sep 10, 1956: Preston 3-0 Arsenal (First Division)
Sep 04, 1956: Arsenal 1-2 Preston (First Division)
Mar 06, 1956: Arsenal 3-2 Preston (First Division)
Nov 19, 1955: Preston 0-1 Arsenal (First Division)
Feb 05, 1955: Arsenal 2-0 Preston (First Division)
Sep 18, 1954: Preston 3-1 Arsenal (First Division)
Feb 24, 1954: Preston 0-1 Arsenal (First Division)
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