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Preston have just been on an excellent run that started immediately after a Robbie Blake inspired Burnley saw them off on the Turf a couple of weeks before Christmas. That defeat left them in sixteenth place in the league and things not looking too good.
We remained the last side to beat them in a league game right until Wednesday of this week when they were somewhat unfortunate to go down to two late goals at Nottingham Forest.
Between those two defeats they played another ten games in the league, winning seven and drawing three, and that saw them climb up into fourth place. They’ve slipped to sixth now but will be looking to get back to winning ways after a draw and a defeat in the last week.
Manager Billy Davies had strengthened his squad just before we last met, bringing in Patrick Agyemang and Chris Sedgwick from the league’s strugglers Gillingham and Rotherham respectively.
He’s continued his rebuilding and he added two more players in successive days in January. The first to arrive was 23 year-old defender Matt Hill from Bristol City and he’s stepped straight into the side.
Twenty- four hours later and Dave Nugent, Bury’s teenage striker, signed on the dotted line for a £100,000 fee. He’s had to wait his time and after scoring Preston’s equaliser in their 2-1 win at QPR after coming on as a sub he was given his first start last Friday and scored again as they drew 1-1 at home to Ipswich.
The only cloud on the horizon has been the injuries to two of his goalkeepers Andy Lonergan and Gavin Ward and with Jonathan Gould being released it meant a rush this week to get a keeper on loan with QPR’s Chris Day arriving just in time to play at Forest.
Only Ipswich have more home points than Preston and they have lost just twice at Deepdale this season against Yorkshire teams Sheffield United and Leeds although they did recently lose their FA Cup tie against West Brom. They were hit for four by Leeds with David Healy scoring two of them on his return to Deepdale.
Click HERE to see all Preston’s results this season.
Team News
Billy Davies is expected to give his side a vote of confidence after the defeat and name exactly the same starting eleven as lost at Forest. He has no injury worries and the expected Preston team is:
Chris Day, Graham Alexander, Youl Mawene, Chris Lucketti, Matt Hill, Chris Sedgwick, Brian O’Neil, Paul McKenna, Eddie Lewis, Richard Cresswell, Dave Nugent: Subs: Chris Neal, Callum Davidson, Andy Smith, Patrick Agyemang, Claude Davis.
Click HERE to see Preston’s full squad.
There will be one new face for certain in the Burnley squad and could be a second as we look to pick up our first double of the season.
There’s no doubt that Ade Akinbiyi will be in the squad but late news suggests that youth team striker Cayne Hanley will be in the sixteen although I suspect will be limited to spending the match on the bench.
The big question is will Akinbiyi start and I think the answer to that is yes with Ian Moore going onto the bench. Mooro will be in for certain on Tuesday and I think Steve Cotterill will give him as much of a rest as possible.
Frank Sinclair is again ruled out although it does look as though he could be back in the team sooner than we thought whilst John McGreal will probably be out although he could well be ready for Blackburn on Tuesday night.
I suspect we will line up:
Brian Jensen, Lee Roche, Gary Cahill, Michael Duff, Mo Camara, John Oster, Micah Hyde, Tony Grant, Pete Whittingham, Jean-Louis Valois, Ade Akinbiyi. Subs: Danny Coyne, Joel Pilkington, Graham Branch, Ian Moore, Cayne Hanley.
Last Time
Who can forget last season’s trip to Deepdale? We played some fantastic football that Presto at times simply couldn’t cope with. We scored three goals from Ian Moore, Arthur Gnohere and a Robbie Blake penalty but on a ‘Throw One In’ day we were never in front.
Blake and Glen Little played some wonderful stuff but this was countered by a defensive performance that would be flattered if it was called inept. A raging Stan Ternent laid all the blame at the feet of Brian Jensen who had an absolute nightmare but the back four in front of him were nothing short of a joke.
Three times we pulled level, each time within just a few minutes, and then Little missed a sitter right in front of the Burnley fan with just nine minutes to go. Preston went straight down and made it 4-3 and two minutes before the end it was five as Jensen was beaten ridiculously by Healy on his near post.
The excitement continued after the game as Stan Ternent apparently resigned but he did finally make the press conference where he said, “The goalkeeper was to blame for at least four of the goals. We work as a team, we create chances as a team and we score goals as a team and we defend as a team, but when one player has a day like that …..
“I’m absolutely naffed off because we were miles the better side.”
It won’t be like that tomorrow I can promise you.
The teams were,
Preston: Jonathan Gould, Graham Alexander, Michael Jackson, Chris Lucketti, Marlon Broomes, Dixon Etuhu (David Healy 58), Brian O’Neil, Paul McKenna, Eddie Lewis, Richard Cresswell (Pawel Abbott 72), Ricardo Fuller (Claude Davis 90). Subs not used: Andy Lonergan, Michael Keane.
Burnley: Brian Jensen, Dean West (Graham Branch 84), David May, Arthur Gnohere, Mo Camara (Jay McEveley 85), Paul Weller (Luke Chadwick 76), Richard Chaplow, Tony Grant, Glen Little, Robbie Blake, Ian Moore. Subs not used: Lee Roche, Mark McGregor.
Previous 20 Seasons | |||||
Season | Div | Ven | Result | Att | Scorers |
1984/85 | 3 | a | 3-3 | 4,995 | Biggins(2) Whatmore |
| . | . | h | 2-0 | 4,768 | Scott Biggins |
1985/86 | 4 | a | 0-1 | 5,585 | . |
| . | . | h | 1-1 | 3,835 | Deakin |
1986/87 | 4 | h | 1-4 | 5,974 | James(pen) |
| . | . | a | 1-2 | 10,716 | Parker |
1987/88 | SV | h | 0-0 | 15,680 | . |
| . | . | a | 3-1aet | 17,592 | Oghani Hoskin Comstive |
1989/90 | LD | a | 0-3 | 5,241 | . |
1990/91 | LD | a | 1-6 | 12,016 | Bray |
1992/93 | 2 | a | 0-2 | 7,209 | . |
| . | . | h | 2-0 | 12,648 | Heath(2) |
1993/94 | LC | a | 2-1 | 6,283 | Davis Eyres |
. | . | h | 4-1 | 9,346 | Deary Eyres Francis Russell |
. | AG | a | 1-2 | 4,485 | Eyres |
1996/97 | 2 | a | 1-1 | 12,652 | Nogan |
| . | . | h | 1-2 | 16,186 | Barnes |
1997/98 | 2 | h | 1-1 | 13,809 | Cooke |
. | . | a | 3-2 | 12,263 | Payton Cooke N Moore |
. | AW | h | 1-0 | 10,079 | Payton |
1998/99 | 2 | a | 1-4 | 15,888 | Eastwood |
| . | AW | h | 0-1 | 3,366 | . |
| . | . | h | 0-1 | 11,561 | . |
1999/2000 | 2 | a | 0-0 | 13,708 | . |
| . | . | h | 0-3 | 22,310 | . |
2000/01 | 1 | a | 1-2 | 17,355 | Moore |
| . | . | h | 3-0 | 16,591 | Moore Ball Little |
2001/02 | 1 | a | 3-2 | 20,370 | Gnohere(2) Little |
| . | . | h | 2-1 | 18,388 | I Moore Johnson |
2002/03 | 1 | a | 1-3 | 16,046 | Taylor |
| . | . | h | 2-0 | 12,245 | Blake Papadopoulos |
2003/04 | 1 | a | 3-5 | 18,802 | I Moore Gnohere Blake(pen) |
| . | . | h | 1-1 | 15,837 | Blake |
2004/05 | C | h | 2-0 | 15,318 | Blake(2) |
Click HERE
to see all our results against Preston, and our first league meeting was our very first Football League game.