Preston North End play Hearts on Wednesday evening in what will be the penultimate fixture of their pre-season schedule.

The same can be said of their Scottish opponents, who are yet to suffer a single defeat ahead of returning to action in the top flight.

Match preview

Although Preston only finished in 13th position in the Championship last season, it was clear that they had made significant progress since Ryan Lowe's arrival just before the turn of the year.

There is now growing expectation that the North West outfit can make a bid for the playoffs, particularly with a number of shrewd signings having already been made.

Goalkeeper Freddie Woodman brings plenty of experience at this level, while Robbie Brady and Ben Woodburn have the potential to emerge as two of the best value-for-money additions of the season.

As it stands, Preston are yet to totally convince during their list of friendlies, although a 2-1 defeat against Getafe in Spain should not necessarily be viewed as a negative.

Nevertheless, with Hearts and Leicester City to come this week, Lowe will want to see many improvements ahead of their season opener against rivals Wigan Athletic.

To a large extent, Robbie Neilson will feel that Hearts have enjoyed a perfect pre-season with five wins and a draw coming from six fixtures.

While the level of opposition should be taken into consideration, the Edinburgh-based side have built up a certain level of momentum ahead of attempting to close the gap to Celtic and Rangers.

However, lessons will need to be learned from how they let slip a two-goal advantage against Crawley Town at the weekend to only draw 2-2 with their League One opponents.

With Stoke City to follow this game on Saturday, Neilson and his players have two more opportunities to prepare in the ideal way for their top-flight fixture with Ross County on July 30.

Team News

Neilson must decide whether to tinker with his Hearts XI with six players having come through 90 minutes at the weekend.

Goalkeeper Ross Stewart could be drafted in between the sticks, while Nathaniel Atkinson may be given a run out after remaining as an unused substitute.

Alex Cochrane also stands to come into the side ahead of Stephen Kingsley, despite his double in the last game.

Having made substitutions throughout the second half against Accrington Stanley, Lowe could stick with the Preston starting lineup from that fixture.

Ched Evans and Emil Riis Jakobsen are most likely to drop down to the substitutes' bench after being given the most game time, a total of 82 minutes to be precise.

Woodburn may be used in an advanced role in a fixture which is being played against his former club.

Hearts possible starting lineup:
Stewart, Atkinson, Halliday, Neilson, Sibbick, Cochrane, Forrest, Grant, Boyce, Devlin, Mackay-Steven

Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Diaby, Bauer, Cunningham; Potts, Ledson, Browne, Johnson, Brady; Woodburn, Riis

We say: Hearts 1-2 Preston North End

While Hearts can only be encouraged by their pre-season results, the level of opposition has not been as high as Preston have faced. With that in mind, we are going to predict a narrow win for the English side.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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