Preston North End will be looking to get off the mark with their first points of the Championship season when they welcome Peterborough United to Deepdale on Saturday afternoon.
The Lilywhites have lost all three matches so far this season and are bottom of the division, while Peterborough are four points better off after a positive return to the division.
Match preview
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After ending last season strongly with four wins in a row, hope was high at Preston of being able to maintain that momentum heading into 2021-22.
However, a heavy 4-1 loss at home to Hull City on the opening day has been followed by 2-1 and 1-0 defeats away at Reading and Huddersfield Town respectively.
Bottom of the table after three games and with the joint-worst goal difference in the division, Frankie McAvoy's side know that they desperately need to stop the rot.
Not since 1956-57 have North End lost their opening four games to a league season, when going on to finish third in the top flight, but they face a tricky test this weekend.
Peterborough went down 3-0 to Luton Town in their first game back at this level after an eight-year absence, but they have recovered well since then.
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A 4-0 loss to Plymouth Argyle in the EFL Cup aside - a competition way down on the list of United's priorities - the Posh have defeated Derby County and drawn against Cardiff City.
The 2-1 win against the Rams lifted some weight off Darren Ferguson's shoulders, though he would have been disappointed not to have taken all three points against the Bluebirds.
Peterborough led that game by a couple of goals with less than 10 minutes remaining, only for Aden Flint to twice pop up late on and snatch a draw for Cardiff.
The Posh will see this as another chance to put some points on the board, but history is not on their side as they have lost five of their last six games against Preston.
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Team News
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Siriki Dembele was brought into Peterborough's starting lineup against Cardiff and was on the scoresheet, meaning that he has scored in his last three league matches for the club.
Jonson Clarke-Harris assisted both goals in midweek and Ferguson is unlikely to make any changes in that department, though Jack Marriott is among those pushing for a recall.
Captain Mark Beevers hobbled off with an hour played against Cardiff, with Ethan Hamilton brought on in his place, so United may be forced into at least one change here.
As for Preston, McAvoy's decision to shake up his side to face Huddersfield did not exactly pay off, with Josh Earl, Ben Whiteman, Brad Potts and Ched Evans being brought in.
Only after going behind in the 74th minute did McAvoy introduce Emil Riis Jakobsen, Scott Sinclair and Sean Maguire, each of whom are in contention to start this weekend.
The home side could go with a slightly different setup here, but Tom Barkhuizen will not be part of the squad having once again been ruled out.
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Rudd; Hughes, Lindsay, Storey; Berg, Whiteman, Ledson, Cunningham; Johnson; Jakobsen, Sinclair
Peterborough United possible starting lineup:
Pym; Kent, Thompson, Knight; Ward, Hamilton, Burrows, Norburn, Butler; Clarke-Harris, Dembele
We say: Preston North End 2-1 Peterborough United
Peterborough can be pleased with their results over the past week, even if they should have held on for victory against Cardiff last time out.
Preston's start to 2021-22 has been pretty dreadful, on the other hand, but Peterborough are not the best of travellers, and we can see the hosts finally getting off the mark here.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Peterborough United win with a probability of 43.12%. A win for Preston North End had a probability of 30.08% and a draw had a probability of 26.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Peterborough United win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.49%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.76%) and 0-2 (7.93%). The likeliest Preston North End win was 1-0 (9.22%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.7%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 9.2% likelihood.
