Preston North End

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Former Preston North End goalkeeper Alan Kelly heaped praise on striker Milutin Osmajic after his double in the 2-1 win over Charlton in the FA Cup third round on Tuesday.

Osmajic's willingness to do the "ugly work" is what makes him so valuable to Preston, as they progressed to the fourth round and a tie against Wycombe Wanderers.

"He has done fantastic in the game for Preston. His running forward, I think Preston matched it by playing forward quicker and he got a brilliant second goal from a set-play," Kelly told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"His running and his work rate for the team, the way that he hustles defenders and makes it uncomfortable for them, it's a really good outlet, any team needs that.

"He gave everything, it's the off the ball running, the closing down, the ugly part of the job that he did so well.

"They always know with Osmajic that they've got an out-ball. That was born out by his first goal that he made for himself in my opinion. He doesn't give up, he puts the opposition under pressure, a mistake happens and he slots the first goal away – fantastic."

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Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom felt his side were not at their best as they beat League One Charlton Athletic to reach the FA Cup fourth round.

Milutin Osmajic scored in either half to secure a 2-1 victory and set up a tie against Wycombe Wanderers but Heckingbottom believes North End made it a closer game against the Addicks than it needed to be.

"I'm delighted to get the job done, it was a tricky game," he told BBC Radio Lancashire. "We knew that Charlton would make it tricky with their style and how they play but I thought we contributed towards making it tricky as well.

"We were really sloppy with the ball, especially in the second half. We didn't play enough forward passes in behind them in the first half. We were brave and took the ball but didn't pose enough problems.

"The way we started the second half I thought we'd wrestle control of the game but it never really happened so we had to win the game in a different way and stood strong but we made it tough for ourselves."

Osmajic got the nod over Lilywhites top marksman Emil Riis with the Montenegro international making the most of his opportunity to net his eighth and ninth goals of the season.

"We always knew he would work hard, I always fancy him to get a goal," Heckingbottom added.

"I want him to improve in terms of his role out of possession because I think it can help the team and also help him save energy in certain moments to be more affective when we do have the ball.

"But I'm delighted for him. I believe he's a big threat when he's on the pitch."

Preston North End are in talks to sign defender Emir Karic from Austrian side Sturm Graz. (Football Insider, external)

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Wednesday's gossip here.

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This is the first FA Cup meeting between Preston and Charlton since January 1966, with the Lilywhites winning a third round tie 3-2 at the Valley.

Since their last promotion to the Championship ahead of 2015-16, Preston have lost seven of their nine FA Cup third round ties, with the exceptions coming in 2017-18 (5-1 v Wycombe) and 2022-23 (3-1 v Huddersfield).

Preston have cooled their interest in Crystal Palace wide man Jeffrey Schlupp, who has fallen out of favour at Selhurst Park and has also been linked with Blackburn. (Lancashire Evening Post, external)

Want more EFL transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column.

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New signing Lewis Gibson could make his debut for Preston North End in their third round FA cup tie against Charlton Athletic on Saturday.

The defender featured in 18 Championship games for Plymouth Argyle this season but made the move to North End earlier this month for a reported seven figure fee.

Midfielders Brad Potts and Robbie Brady are not fit to return though the weekend could see an appearance for experienced striker Ched Evans.

The former Wales international has been sidelined through injury since signing in June and has not yet featured for the first team.

However, the player-coach did score for the Under-21s on Tuesday against Blackburn Rovers, and manager Paul Heckingbottom has not ruled out a possible appearance against Charlton.

"He wants to focus on playing, he feels like he's in limbo," Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire. "We will see how he does because you never know, he may be needed."

Preston North End welcome Oxford United to Deepdale on Saturday for just the second time in 25 years (15:00 GMT).

Both sides dwell in the bottom half of the table but did win to end 2024 on a positive note, each taking two wins in their final two fixtures.

However, while Oxford triumphed over Millwall at the start of 2025, Preston suffered a 3-1 loss to West Bromwich Albion.

A win for either side would see them pull further clear of danger but Preston will have to do something they have never done against a Gary Rowett side - win.

• Preston North End will host Oxford United in any competition for the first time since March 2000 in the third tier, when they won 3-1 thanks to a brace from Brett Angell and a goal from Jon Macken.

• Oxford United have won five of their last seven league meetings with Preston North End (L2), winning the reverse fixture 3-1 earlier this season.

• Preston North End are unbeaten in each of their last six home league games (W2 D4), last going seven without loss at Deepdale in April 2023 (W4 D3).

• Oxford United are winless in their last 10 matches played on a Saturday (D4 L6), since beating Stoke in September last year.

• Oxford United manager Gary Rowett is unbeaten in 14 previous league meetings with Preston North End (W8 D6), the only opponent he has faced more than seven times without ever losing.

Steve Eyre
BBC Radio Lancashire summariser

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Image source, Rex Features

I was glad half-time came when it did against West Brom. Any poor decisions in selection were corrected with a better performance in the second half, led by Ryan Ledson with his attitude and his goal and with Ben Whiteman coming on in the middle of the pitch - everything he did was correct.

I imagine there was a relaxed feel about the substitutes because they weren't part of the first-half mess.

The manager was part of that too because he set the team up and chose it, but the pat on the back for half-time goes to him, for mending it.

A couple of new faces would be ideal but the players are not doing enough with their consistency levels to keep a structure and settled team to give the manager fewer decisions to make.

They are putting in a performance and good victory like at weekend, and then serve up something like this for the first 45 minutes.

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Paul Heckingbottom refused to use the illness which has affected his squad for their comprehensive defeat at West Brom, which had followed consecutive victories.

The Lilywhites were without defender Andrew Hughes for the 3-1 loss at The Hawthorns, while the manager indicated that Jack Whatmough and Jordan Storey, who both played a full 90 minutes, had also been affected by a bug.

North End had beaten Hull and Sheffield Wednesday over the Christmas period, conceding just one goal in the process, but were cut open by the Baggies in the first-half, with Josh Maja scoring twice and Callum Styles also on target.

When asked about Hughes' absence, Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire: "It's an excuse but we've had a little bit of illness going round.

"We had Pottsy [Brad Potts] previously and then Will [Keane], Sam [Greenwood] before the Boxing Day game, then Ali McCann before the last game. Then it was Hughesy, Jack and Jordan, really late.

"They wanted to play, which I expect. You can say it's an excuse but it's not - the same players were on the pitch and played a lot better second half.

"The moment you start letting players have an excuse to not perform, you're letting everyone else down. There were issues to deal with, definitely, but the three goals we conceded were terrible."