Manager Kieran McKenna believes Saturday’s opponents Preston North End will be desperate to get back to form after a disappointing recent run and a 4-0 defeat at Middlesbrough last weekend.

Preston are currently ninth in the Championship but only one point off the final play-off place.

However, they go into Saturday’s game following a run of four defeats in a row in all competitions, three in the league and the FA Cup exit to Wigan Athletic following a 1-0 defeat.

Last week they were trounced 4-0 on Teesside having been reduced to 10 men following Jordan Storey’s 50th-minute dismissal.

On the preceding Tuesday, they were comfortably beaten 3-0 at home by Hull City, Milutin Osmajic seeing red in the final minute for a headbutt. Four days earlier, they lost 1-0 at home to Derby County.

Preston were the first side to inflict a defeat on the Blues this season back in August when Town were in the process of rebuilding their squad.

“We played them early in the season and I think we were still bedding in,” McKenna recalled. “And the game didn’t quite go our way, although it could have been different on another day. 
 
“In terms of their form, I have said before, I never love it whenever you play the team after probably their worst day of the season because they’re a good side with a good manager, have got talented players, especially at the top end of the pitch.”

Only five teams have picked up more points on the road than Preston’s total of 20, which is four more than the Blues have secured on their travels.

Away from home they have scored 17, the Championship’s 10th best, and conceded 17, the division’s seventh fewest.

“They’ve been up in the play-off positions all year,” McKenna continued. “I think in their last nine away games, they’ve lost two of them. They’ve gone away to some really good teams and taken points or one. 
 
“Last weekend, they had a bad day, a red card, a few mistakes from the goalkeeper for the goals, but we’ve been really clear with the players, and everyone coming to the stadium needs to be really clear tomorrow, that we’re facing an experienced, tough Championship team.

“And if we think they’re going to roll over first, or it’s going to be easy to go and win the game comfortably, or they’re going to lose comfortably two weeks in a row, that’s not what we’re going to face tomorrow. 
 
“We’re going to face a really tough opponent, an experienced opponent with good quality, who are going to come desperate to get back to the good form that they’ve been in for most of the season. 
 
“We have to be ready for that. We’ve spoken about that this week and it’s up to us all to go and deliver that - the intensity and the quality that’s going to be needed tomorrow to overcome them.”

Town go into the game third, five points behind Middlesbrough, who host Norwich City this afternoon, and eight off leaders Coventry, who are at QPR, but with a game in hand on both.

The Team

Despite last week’s 3-1 loss at Sheffield United, McKenna is unlikely to make wholesale changes with the Blues having been unbeaten in seven in all competitions prior to that.

Christian Walton, who signed a new contract earlier in the week, will be in goal with Darnell Furlong at right-back, Leif Davis on the left and skipper Dara O’Shea and Cedric Kipre the centre-halves.

In midfield, Jens Cajuste could return alongside Azor Matusiwa, who remains on nine bookings with a 10th leading to a two-match ban having now gone nine matches without a caution. New signing Dan Neil will be on the bench.

Ahead of them, Wes Burns could come back on the right with Jack Clarke on the left with Anis Mehmeti perhaps handed his full debut as the number 10 having come off the bench against the Blades. Ivan Azon could come back in as the out-and-out striker having impressed against Bristol City.

Sammie Szmodics may well be left out of the squad with Derby and Wrexham both eyeing a move for the Republic of Ireland international prior to Monday’s deadline.

Jaden Philogene (knee) and Marcelino Nunez (ankle) both remain sidelined, although not far from a return. Chuba Akpom trained today after his groin issue and may well be in the squad. Ashley Young appears set for a long spell out with a hip problem.

The Opponents

Preston manager Paul Heckingbottom feels the game at Deepdale might have come at the right time having predicted the Blues to carry off the Championship title in the summer.

“They’re arguably not playing any different,” Heckingbottom told BBC Lancashire reflecting on Town’s climb up the table to third following their slow start. “I think they were the team I said would win the league. Still might. That was before the season.

“They’ve continued to recruit. They recruited a lot in the summer and we probably played them at a good time because of that. They had lads who’d come down from the Premier League who’d been on the back end of a tough run.

“It is tough and then they recruited a lot of players and they were in between, regardless of how good I thought they were, we probably did catch them at a good time.

“Now we play them when they are playing really, really well, so it’s going to be a good game for us to test ourselves.

“But they’re not doing many things differently, just doing them better. Statistically, they should’ve been getting better results than they were at the start of the season anyway.

“So, they’re where I think they should be and ought to be and it’s going to be a good game for us.”

Preston signed 20-year-old Serbian striker Milos Lukovic on loan from Strasbourg ahead of the trip to Suffolk.

Midfielder Brad Potts is out with a knee problem, while defender Andrew Hughes (hamstring) and keeper Daniel Iversen (groin) are making progress but won’t be ready for Saturday’s game. Veteran Irish international full-back Robbie Brady remains out having undergone calf surgery.

Striker Osmajic and defender Storey both remain suspended following their recent red cards, although the Lilywhites are still awaiting news of an appeal regarding the latter’s dismissal.

History

Historically, the Lancastrians just have the edge, Town having won 13 games (12 in the league) between the sides while Preston have been victorious on 16 (14) occasions and 11 (10) matches have ended in draws.

PNE have won the last two games between the sides and three of the last four but prior to that the Blues were unbeaten in eight against the Lilywhites in the league.

Preston’s most recent of their four wins at Portman Road was in August 2008 when Jim Magilton’s side was beaten 2-1.

The teams met at Deepdale in August when Osmajic’s 11th-minute penalty saw the home side to a 1-0 victory.

Jacob Greaves was adjudged to have fouled the Lilywhites striker with Town subsequently dominating possession while unable to take the handful of chances they created.

The sides last faced one another at Portman Road in October 2023 when the Blues went into the international break second in the Championship following a 4-2 victory over third-placed Preston, who they then led by eight points.

Conor Chaplin gave the Blues the lead in the 18th minute, before Mads Frøkjær levelled for the visitors nine minutes later.

Brandon Williams made it 2-1 with a brilliant solo goal and Nathan Broadhead netted a third in first-half injury time.

Town made a slow start to the second half and Lilywhites’ sub Ben Whiteman pulled a goal back on 52 but Kayden Jackson sealed Town’s ninth win of the season 12 minutes from time as all five subs combined.

Familiar Faces

Former Blues keeper Dai Cornell joined Preston in June 2022 but has made only 14 starts and one sub appearance since then, none this season. The Welshman made 15 starts for the Blues in his only season at the club, 2020/21.

Ex-Town striker Will Keane joined Reading on loan from the Lilywhites earlier this month. The former Manchester United youngster made 28 starts and 13 substitute appearances, scoring nine goals while at Town.

One-time Blues loan keeper Mike Pollitt is the Lilywhites’ goalkeeper-coach. Pollitt was with Town in November 2006, making his only appearance in a 3-1 derby victory over Norwich City at Portman Road before being recalled by parent club Wigan Athletic.

Preston’s fitness coach is Andy Liddell, who was in the same role at Town between 2011 and 2018.

Officials

Saturday’s referee is John Busby, his assistants Mark Russell and Hugh Gilroy, and the fourth official Simon Mather.

Oxfordshire-based Busby has shown 68 yellow cards and three red in 16 games so far this season.

Busby’s most recent Town match was the 1-1 draw at Bristol City in September when he awarded the Blues a penalty, which was converted by Clarke, after Akpom was fouled. He also cautioned Davis, Matusiwa and four home players.

Prior to that, the Blues had won five games in a row when he had been in charge, the last of that run the 2-1 victory at Swansea in February 2024 in which he yellow-carded Davis and one home player.

Busby was in the middle for the 3-1 final-day-of-the-season League One win against a Fleetwood side featuring Burns, who scored in his last game before his move to the Blues, at Portman Road in May 2021, in which he booked only two of the visitors.

He also took control of the 2-0 home victory over Blackpool in February the same year, yellow-carding Myles Kenlock, Luke Matheson and two Tangerines.

The scoreline was also 2-0 to Town when he was in charge of Town when Rochdale were at Portman Road in September 2020, booking Jon Nolan and two visiting players.

Before that he refereed the 2-1 win at Tranmere in January 2020 when he showed yellow cards to Emyr Huws and Will Norris as well as three home players.

Busby was also in the man in the middle for the Blues’ 2-0 defeat to Rotherham at Portman Road in October 2019 when he cautioned Gwion Edwards and three Millers.

Squad From

Walton, Palmer, Button, Furlong, Johnson, Davis, O’Shea (c), Greaves, Kipre, Matusiwa, Cajuste, Neil, Taylor, Clarke, Walle Egeli, Burns, McAteer, Szmodics, Mehmeti, Hirst, Azon.

Photo: TWTD