Looking to halt their worrying winless run, Preston North End will welcome Derby County to Deepdale for an all-important Championship clash on Saturday afternoon in Lancashire.
The Lilywhites will be aiming to bounce back following a woeful performance on the road prior to the international break, whilst the Rams are fighting to improve their displays on the road in the second tier.
Match preview
Enjoying top-half finishes in the Championship in consecutive campaigns, it appears that Preston North End are set for a trickier 2024-25 campaign under the stewardship of Paul Heckingbottom, who will do extremely well to add a second promotion from this division to his CV in 2025.
Prior to the final international break of the calendar year, the Lilywhites extended their winless spell across the second tier and EFL Cup to seven matches, producing a lifeless display at the home of relegation-threatened Portsmouth, who picked up only their second win of the league term.
A third strike of the Championship season form Danish marksman Emil Riis Jakobsen provided a glimmer of hope for Preston on the South Coast in the second period, but strikes either side of the break from Josh Murphy, Connor Ogilvie and the returning Colby Bishop secured maximum points for Pompey.
Winning just three of their opening 15 matches in the second tier this season, the Lilywhites are languishing down in 20th position in the Championship standings, level on points with 22nd-placed Cardiff City and a mammoth 10 points adrift of Watford in the lowest of the playoff spots.
Considering that 12 of their 15 second-tier points and all of their wins have been earned at Deepdale so far this term, Preston should be relatively confident of posting a positive result this weekend, although Heckingbottom's troops have lost back-to-back home matches recently by an aggregate scoreline of 6-1.
Ending a two-year hiatus from the second tier by securing League One automatic promotion in April, Derby County are now showing their ability to fully compete in the heat of the Championship battle, with Saturday's visitors to Lancashire proving to be one of the most physical outfits in the division.
Following a surprise 2-1 defeat at Stoke City on November 2, the Rams collected four points from two league fixtures prior to November's international break, winning dramatically at the home of Midlands neighbours Coventry City before sharing the spoils with Plymouth Argyle at Pride Park.
It appeared as if Paul Warne's side would go on to record their fifth Championship home success of the campaign when Swansea City loanee Jerry Yates fired Derby ahead in the opening 10 minutes, but a first-half strike from Pilgrims midfielder Adam Randell restored parity in the contest.
Tipped to struggle at the foot of the division by supporters and pundits alike over the summer, the Rams have exceeded the majority of expectations so far this term and currently occupy 12th in the Championship table, four points above Cardiff in the highest of the relegation spots.
Derby will need to drastically improve their away form if they wish to make an unlikely push for a top-six finish this season, with Warne's men collecting just five points from eight second-tier outings to date - only five sides in the division have managed fewer.
Team News
Preston remain without the services of Montenegro international Milutin Osmajic, who was suspended for biting Blackburn Rovers defender Owen Beck during a match in September.
The Lilywhites' options in attack are further restricted by the absence of Will Keane, with the Irishman struggling on the sidelines due to a tendon injury.
The hosts are also without a pair of first-team options at the heart of their backline, with Liam Lindsay (knock) and Patrick Bauer (elbow) doubts for this weekend.
Due to a troubling muscle injury, Callum Elder was forced to miss World Cup qualification duty for New Zealand over the international break and is not expected to feature for Derby at Deepdale.
The Rams are facing a mini fitness crisis at full-back, with former Blackburn enforcer Ryan Nyambe out until early December owing to a knee issue.
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Storey, Whatmough, Hughes; Potts, Frokjaer-Jensen, Ledson, McCann, Kesler-Hayden; Jakobsen, Greenwood
Derby County possible starting lineup:
Zetterstrom; Wilson, Nelson, Cashin, Forsyth; Adams, Jackson, Goudmijn, Thompson, Mendez-Laing; Yates
We say: Preston North End 2-1 Derby County
Given a fortnight to reflect on their poor run of form, Preston should be raring to get back into second-tier action and put Derby to the sword at Deepdale.
The Rams have struggled on the road so far in 2024-25, so we cannot envisage the newly-promoted side earning anything tangible for their efforts in Lancashire this weekend.
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