Looking to halt their worrying winless run, Preston North End will welcome promotion-chasing West Bromwich Albion to Deepdale for a Championship match on Saturday afternoon.
The Lilywhites secured a point at the home of Stoke City earlier in the week, whilst the Baggies forced a share of the spoils with Sunderland in the North-East.
Match preview
© Imago
Since the narrow one-goal victory over Coventry City on October 19, Preston North End have endured an eight-game winless streak across the Championship and EFL Cup, meaning that Saturday's hosts at Deepdale are nowhere near their aims of competing for a top-six finish.
That being said, the Lilywhites will be relatively happy with their night's work in the Potteries on Tuesday, when Paul Heckingbottom's troops managed a share of the points against Stoke from a contest in which neither side was able to conjure up a moment of attacking quality.
Seven games without a win in the second tier, Preston are languishing down in 19th position in the Championship standings ahead of this weekend's visit of the Baggies, with the hosts sitting just two points above Hull City in 22nd and 10 points behind Middlesbrough in sixth.
The Lilywhites have won three of their 17 Championship matches so far this term, with all of those successes arriving in front of a passionate home faithful at Deepdale, who witnessed a 1-1 draw between their troops and newly-promoted Derby County last time out in Lancashire.
© Imago
Following the shock 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough at The Hawthorns on the first day of October, West Bromwich Albion have strung together a nine-game unbeaten streak in the Championship, although eight draws in that period means that the Baggies are failing to set the division alight.
It appeared as if Albion had broken their worrying habit of sharing the spoils just before the international break when goals from Karlan Grant and Josh Maja won the day at Hull City, but the Baggies have since returned to action with successive stalemates against Norwich City and Sunderland.
Approaching their final match before the hectic festive period, West Brom are currently occupying seventh place in the Championship table, level on points with Michael Carrick's Boro in sixth, with the Teesside outfit one of only two clubs to beat Carlos Corberan's side so far this league campaign.
Despite winning just one of their last 11 matches overall, the Baggies are still able to boast the best away record in the division, with Saturday's visitors to Deepdale collecting 16 points from their opening nine road trips of the Championship season.
Team News
© Imago
After seeing red during the closing stages of the draw at Stoke, Preston's Freddie Woodman will be unable to feature this weekend due to suspension.
As a result, the Lilywhites will require a new option in between the sticks, with veteran Welshman David Cornell representing the most likely candidate for that role.
Managing 45 minutes on his return from injury at the Stadium of Light, defender Kyle Bartley is expected to start once again on Saturday for West Brom.
Consequently, either Mason Holgate or Callum Styles is expected to drop out of the side, with Torbjorn Heggem set to keep his spot in the team at centre-back or left-back.
After drawing a blank in front of goal in the North-East, the Baggies could make some attacking alterations, with the likes of Devante Cole and John Swift pushing for starts.
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Cornell; Storey, Whatmough, Hughes; Potts, Thordarson, Whiteman, Holmes, Kesler-Hayden; Greenwood, Jakobsen
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Palmer; Furlong, Bartley, Holgate, Heggem; Molumby, Mowatt; Fellows, Swift, Grant; Maja
We say: Preston North End 0-1 West Bromwich Albion
Without a win in eight games across all competitions, Preston will not be looking forward to the visit of promotion-chasing West Brom this weekend.
The Baggies are relatively reliable for a positive result, and we feel that a stubborn away performance should lead to maximum points at Deepdale.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
