New loan signing James Scowcroft will make his second Town debut on Friday night when the Blues face Preston North End at Deepdale (KO 7.45pm). Scowcroft will replace the injured Shefki Kuqi.

Scowcroft, who has been given the number 14 shirt, will make his 249th appearance for the Blues, nearly four years since he left to sign for Leicester City, with whom he played his final game last week, ironically against Town at Portman Road.

The former England U21 will partner a more recent Town youth product Darren Bent in attack. Dean Bowditch will again be on the bench having recovered from the foot injury he picked up in the warm-up ahead of the Leicester game. Once again there is no place in the squad for Spanish striker Pablo Couñago.

Royle's main decision again surrounds his midfield where he has five senior players competing for four places. Kevin Horlock, a sub for the last few weeks, is over his shoulder injury and the Town manager has hinted that he may include him in his starting line-up, probably for Darren Currie.

Billy Davies's Preston are the form side in the Championship at present and Royle says they fully deserve to be in fourth position: "Billy is playing it down, and saying they are not ready for a promotion push yet, and I don't blame him for that, but they are in the play-off places and they are there on merit.

"Preston are having a great run and it was a tight game down here until a minute before half-time when we got a couple of quick goals.

"They are strong at home and their tails are up. I look at the players they have, like Chris Lucketti, Richard Cresswell and Dickson Etuhu, and they are a strong side in this division."

The Lilywhites were dealt a big blow late this week when former England U19 goalkeeper Andy Lonergan injured knee ligaments in training. Lonergan, a former team-mate of Darren Bent with the young England side, will be out for at least six months.

Davies is shocked at the loss of one of his star men: "I'm gutted about losing such an important player at this stage of the season, especially in the situation that we are in.

"I have spoken to Andy and he is absolutely devastated, gutted. He has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament and damaged his medial ligament and he will be out of action for between six to nine months."

Gavin Ward or Jonathan Gould will take his place, while youngster Chris Neal has been recalled from a loan spell at Tamworth.

Preston are also without midfielder Eddie Lewis through suspension but Paul McKenna is back after a broken hand and looks to be his likely replacement. The Lilywhites' only other absentee is Eric Skora who has been on the sidelines for some while.

Manager Davies says that he expects Town to be promoted and that the game will give his side a thorough examination: "It is a fantastic test. It is against a team very much on the up and one I think will definitely reach the Premiership.

"The belief is there in my players and they have just got to keep doing what they are doing at the moment. Confidence is growing through winning games of football.

"But you cannot look any further than the next game. Nothing is achieved in the month of February, everybody knows that.

"At the same time we just have to keep building on the good performances and the good results. Overall we just have to try and keep things ticking along in the way we are."

A trip to Preston gives fans a chance to visit the National Football Museum which is situated within Deepdale. Entry is free and visitors can have their photo taken with the UEFA Cup trophy won by the Blues in 1981 (5-7pm).

Also in the museum, along with hosts of other exhibits from football's history, is a video diary of Town's play-off semi-final victory over Bolton in 1999/00 made by TWTD's Phil Ham.

Friday's referee is elite list official Matt Messias from West Yorkshire who has shown 51 yellow and no red cards in 17 games this season. Messias last took control of Town when they beat Derby County 2-1 at Portman Road in December 2003. The game is live on Sky Sports Three from 7.30pm.

Town squad: Bent, Bowditch, Currie, Davis, De Vos, Horlock, Karbassiyoon, Magilton, Miller, Naylor, Price, Richards, Scowcroft, Unsworth, Westlake, Wilnis.

Photo: Action Images

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