Preston North End

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Cardiff City face one of the Championship's most-out-of-form sides on Wednesday night (19:45 GMT kick-off) when fellow strugglers Preston North End visit.

Paul Heckingbottom's side are winless in their last 10 games, having not tasted victory since beating Coventry City on 19 October.

Even more encouragingly for Cardiff fans, Preston are yet to register a single away win in the Championship this season.

The Lilywhites have drawn their last four matches, the most recent 1-1 at Hillsborough on Saturday, when they were 14 minutes away from their first win on the road before Sheffield Wednesday equalised.

Based on form in the last five games, though, Cardiff's record is worse - the Bluebirds have picked up two points in five while Preston have earned four.

Three points over Preston would be the perfect way for Cardiff boss Omer Riza to celebrate getting the manager's job until the end of the season.

The first opportunity to do that was lost when the impact of Storm Darragh forced the postponement of Saturday's home game against Watford.

Riza's side have not won since beating Norwich 2-1 on 2 November.

Only goal difference keeps Cardiff outside the relegation zone, while Preston are two points and four places above the Bluebirds in 17th.

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Sheffield Wednesday are starting to eye a surge towards the play-off positions as they seek a third consecutive win against struggling Preston at Hillsborough.

The Owls' victories away to Hull and Derby have lifted them to 12th in the table and three more points on Saturday could leave them just two shy of a top six place.

North End have followed a rather different trajectory of late, slumping to 18th after a run of eight matches without a victory - although the past three have all been draws. Paul Heckingbottom's side are yet to win away from Deepdale this season.

● Sheffield Wednesday have won just two of their last seven league games against Preston North End (D1 L4), one of which came in the last meeting between the pair during a 1-0 success at Deepdale.

● Preston North End have won two of their last three away league games against Sheffield Wednesday (L1), as many victories as across their prior 10 visits to Hillsborough combined beforehand (D1 L7).

● Sheffield Wednesday have won each of their last two league games, and could win three in a row for the first time since August (a run of four).

● Six of Preston's last eight league games have ended in a draw (L2), including each of the last three in a row. The Lilywhites last drew more consecutively in September 2021 (5).

● Sheffield Wednesday have collected more points from losing positions than any other side in the Championship this season (10), four of which have come in their last three league games.

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Preston North End make the trip to Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship on Saturday (kick-off 12:30 GMT).

Here's a recap on the main lines from North End boss Paul Heckingbottom's pre-match news conference:

• He speaks on his role being to maximise spending after chairman Craig Hemmings hinted there may be investment in the squad during the January transfer window.

• He sees the players out of contract next summer as a way to "free-up" money and will decide who will receive new contract offers in May.

• On selling players in January: "I don't want to be losing players - I want this squad, I want to improve the squad. However, when we've got everyone fit, we've got decent number here so I don't want a huge squad where you've got people milling about and know they are not going to play."

• He says they "would rather get a lot more quality and limit the numbers" but admits January is a difficult window.

• On Kaine Kesler-Hayden: "I see a lot more mature player from the day I came in. He's growing up a lot as a person as well. He's got real good attributes. I've been really pleased with him. A lot of the time it goes underestimated what he does."

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Preston’s financial results are so positive the club will be able to invest in the playing squad in January, chairman Craig Hemmings has hinted.

Deepdale PNE Holdings Limited, the club’s parent company, published its annual results for the financial year to 30 June on Monday.

Highlights included:

• Turnover increasing from £15.6m to a record £16.9m. The third year in a row of record turnover.

• The club's loss after tax was £9.9m, a £2.3m improvement year-on-year.

• The club has seen trading improvements across all of its income streams – season cards and matchday ticket sales, plus all commercial and replica kit sales.

• Average home attendance in 2023-24 reached a new high of 16,714 - the highest average attendance at Deepdale in 60 years.

• On Boxing Day 2023 the club enjoyed the highest league crowd at Deepdale since the mid-1970s of 21,816, for a home victory against Leeds United.

• In June the club’s owners converted £50m of outstanding debt/loans into equity, strengthening the club’s balance sheet.

Hemmings told the Lilywhites website, external: “While ultimately the performance on the pitch is paramount to the club’s ambitions, success off the pitch has a direct effect on the opportunities we will have to improve the playing squad.

“To see the club achieve its highest ever revenue is very encouraging. This improved financial performance helps to create the much-needed headroom to further invest in the club’s facilities and squad."

He added: "Historically we had a great deal of success buying and selling players prior to the Covid pandemic and it remains our goal to repeat this philosophy as and when opportunities arise."

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It is one of the most eagerly anticipated dates in the football calendar as Premier League and Championship clubs join the FA Cup action from round three.

The draw will take place on Monday, 2 December from 19:00 GMT and can be watched live on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

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Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom says he can adapt their current squad to help their position in the Championship.

Heckingbottom inherited the vast majority of his squad following former boss Ryan Lowe's sacking, having arrived at the club on 20 August, just 10 days before the summer window closed.

Josh Bowler is the only player signed on Heckingbottom's watch with the winger arriving on loan from Nottingham Forest on deadline day.

Having said he is unsure over what business the club can do, contingent on how well they perform in December first, Heckingbottom also admitted that new additions might boost the squad he currently has available.

"These are players that I know, I've worked with a couple of them. I've got to know them, I like how they train and how they've responded," he told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"But as always you want to help them. And bringing in new players sometimes helps the ones who are already here. If we can do that, that would be great."

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Preston North End head coach Paul Heckingbottom says he is not concerned with his side's league position despite sitting just one point above the Championship relegation zone.

North End currently occupy 20th and are on a run of seven league matches without a win but the former Sheffield United and Leeds boss is satisfied with his team's performances in recent weeks.

"Listen, its not nice. I’m not concerned by the league position, I’m concerned about us not creating the wins," Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"I think we’re fourth in the table for chances conceded so we’ve been limiting chances to teams but at the moment we keep getting punished.

"Our problem at the minute is when we’ve been the better team, we’ve tended to draw games, we’ve not won enough of them and that puts pressure on you."

North End conceded to Jerry Yates' 29th minute equaliser in their 1-1 draw with Derby County on Saturday, the Rams' only shot on target in the game.

Heckingbottom takes his side to Stoke City on Tuesday night who are currently unbeaten in their last four games.

"The fans are sharing the frustrations the same as us but the margins are so fine," he added.

"If we want to win the game, we’ve got to be good with the ball. I think if we are then we can pose them problems.

"However, if we neglect the bit without the ball, and don't out compete them, well, its always going to be a difficult game."

The 47-year-old remained coy on whether he will be given money to spend in the upcoming January transfer window, however.

"Hopefully. Transfer windows always provide an opportunity to change things but we might have to try really hard, we’ll have to wait and see," he added.

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Stoke City have lost just one of their last nine games (W3 D5) following a 1-1 draw at QPR on Saturday and are six points off the play-off spots ahead of Tuesday night's clash with Preston North End.

The Lilywhites drew 1-1 at Derby at the weekend and are winless in their last six (D4 L2). Paul Heckingbottom's side are also yet to win away from home this season.

• Stoke City are looking to win consecutive league games against Preston for the first time since a run of four between 1992 and 1998.

• The away team has won the last five league matches between Stoke and Preston and are unbeaten in the last nine meetings between the sides (W7 D2).

• Stoke are unbeaten in their last six league games on home soil (W2 D3); the Potters last enjoyed a longer run in October 2021 (6 games – W5 D1).

• Preston are winless in their last 12 league games on the road (D4 L8), conceding exactly three goals in seven of their last 10 such games.

• Preston's Brad Potts has scored in two of his four visits to the bet365 Stadium in the EFL, netting in January 2019 and January 2022.

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Preston North End head coach Paul Heckingbottom felt let down by Milutin Osmajic following the Montenegrin's eight-match ban for biting an opponent.

The former Sheffield United boss welcomes back the 25-year-old forward for Preston's Championship game at home to Derby County on Saturday but accepts he has been left disappointed by the circumstances leading to Osmajic's absence.

Osmajic received the lengthy punishment by the FA for biting Blackburn Rovers' Owen Beck in September's Lancashire derby. He was also fined £15,000.

"He knows he’s let us down, let himself down, let me down, let the team down, let the fans down," Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"Listen, people make mistakes but why we feel let down, when we’re looking at our performances over the piece, and the chances we’ve been creating, I want to make sure he realises that he could have been scoring goals.

"People could have been saying some great things about him - so he knows he’s let himself down in that respect and also from our point of view we’re missing the goals and the points".

Osmajic scored twice in a 3-0 home victory over Watford last month, his final appearance before his ban started and over the period without him, North End have found the target just eight times and won just once, in all competitions.

"Its been a big loss because I think he responded really well when he came through the door, we were really pleased with him, and hopefully we can pick up where we left off," Heckingbottom added.

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Preston are looking to end a run of five Championship games without a win (D3 L2) when they welcome Derby to Deepdale on Saturday afternoon.

The Rams have lost just once in their last seven (W2 D4) but have struggled away from Pride Park. However, they did pick up their first win on the road at Coventry in their last away game.

• Preston North End have won just two of their last 18 league games against Derby County (D5 L11), failing to score in eight of their last 10 matches against the Rams.

• Derby County have lost just one of their last nine away league games against Preston North End (W5 D3) despite failing to score on three of their last four visits to Deepdale.

• Since the start of April, only Coventry City (13) have lost more Championship matches than Preston North End (12).

• Derby manager Paul Warne ended a 17-game winless away run in the Championship with a 2-1 win over Coventry in their last away game. Warne last won consecutive Championship away games in March 2021 with Rotherham United.

• Derby County's Ebou Adams has made 60 tackles in the Championship this season, six more than any other player.