Preston North End and Norwich City meet at Deepdale on Saturday afternoon with the clubs separated by just one point in the Championship standings.
However, each side have lost four of their last six games in the league, putting their positions in the top half of the table at considerable risk.
Match preview
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Having had minimal time to work with his new squad last week, David Wagner may have been pessimistic when it came to Norwich being able to rally and defeat Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup.
The Canaries ultimately succumbed to a first-half goal from Jack Vale, extending their winless streak in all competitions to five games.
Norwich have now netted just six strikes in nine matches, highlighting the main area of concern for Wagner as he now considers ways to galvanise this group of players.
The majority of their setbacks have come at Carrow Road, and the East Anglian side will make the trip to Preston having won two of their last three away fixtures.
However, now sitting three points adrift of the top six, the pressure is on Wagner from the start, particularly with just one point being between his new team and 15th-placed Swansea City.
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Preston enjoyed a better time in the FA Cup than their upcoming opponents, coming from behind to score three times in the final half-hour to defeat Huddersfield Town.
With that result following a last-gasp 1-0 victory at Stoke City, Ryan Lowe will be delighted with his team's start to the year as they bid to avoid a meaningless second half of the campaign.
Preston are used to mid-table obscurity, but victory at their home ground on Saturday could potentially move them level on points with Watford, who currently occupy fourth place.
North End will need to sort out their form at Deepdale, however, with three home defeats being recorded in succession in the second tier.
Team News
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Lowe could hand an immediate Preston debut to Liam Delap, who has departed his loan spell at Stoke City to move to Deepdale.
That move is in response to Emil Riis Jakobsen being set for a prolonged period on the sidelines with a knee injury.
Ben Whiteman and Ched Evans are expected to return to the side after being rested for the FA Cup win over Huddersfield.
Wagner could tinker with the Norwich XI which started the Blackburn game with Kieran Dowell and Danel Sinani both in contention for recalls.
Sam McCallum may return at left-back, but Isaac Hayden is out in the long term and Todd Cantwell is unlikely to come back into contention.
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Diaby, Lindsay, Hughes; Browne, McCann, Whiteman, Johnson, Fernandez; Delap, Evans
Norwich City possible starting lineup:
Krul; Aarons, Omobamidele, Hanley, McCallum; Sara, McLean, Nunez; Idah, Pukki, Sinani
We say: Preston North End 1-1 Norwich City
Under a new manager, Norwich will be eager to impress, especially after their FA Cup exit last weekend. Nevertheless, Preston have recently got back on track, and we feel that a competitive low-scoring draw is the most likely outcome.
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