Preston North End

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

Image source, BBC Sport

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."

Dan Jewell
BBC Radio Lancashire

Image source, Getty Images

What do Preston need in January?

It feels like there needs to be a bit of a refresh in this window. Paul Heckingbottom came in with only enough time to add Josh Bowler in the summer window and since has set about assessing what he does and doesn't have.

I think fans have largely been encouraged but they haven't won enough games and I'm sure fresh blood could help to revitalise a squad with a core that has been together for the past few seasons.

What sort of business are they likely to do?

There will likely be an appetite from the fanbase, and probably the manager, to do some business. Wide areas have been mentioned as a possible target to allow Heckingbottom to play a back four instead of a back three and wing-backs, but North End's perennial issue is one of finance.

They've rarely been able to compete with the sort of money splashed around by some in the Championship so that may restrict things and a larger rebuild could be on the cards in the summer when contracts begin to expire.

Are there likely to be any notable departures?

If they will allow Heckingbottom to add then that could be a possibility. He seems to have established the players he wants to work with week-in, week-out now and that will inevitably leave some others on the fringes, so the key factor may be whether those not regularly involved have suitors to take them immediately.

How important is the transfer window likely to be in determining the success of their season?

Pace, especially defensively, has been singled out by some supporters as an area of concern and with the team not scoring a lot of goals so far this season then conceding fewer would be a welcome tonic.

A couple of good quality additions would definitely help and given the number of draws under Heckingbottom perhaps that little bit extra could help them turn one point into three and climb the table.

Preston North End welcome Sheffield Wednesday to Deepdale on Sunday in a fixture between two sides that played out notably different Boxing Day matches.

The Lilywhites eked out a 1-0 victory over Hull City to notch their first home win since October, while Wednesday stormed back from a three goal deficit to rescue a point away at 10-man Middlesbrough.

In the reverse of this fixture earlier this month, the two sides took a point apiece at Hillsborough.

• Preston have only lost two of their last 24 home league games against Sheffield Wednesday (W12 D10) but did lose 1-0 on December 29 last year to the Owls.

• Sheffield Wednesday are looking to win consecutive away league games against Preston North End for the first time since December 1911.

• Preston have lost their final league game in the last two years, including a 1-0 home defeat to Sheffield Wednesday last year. They last did so in more consecutive years between 2009 and 2012 (4).

• Sheffield Wednesday are looking to end their calendar year with a win in three years in a row for the first time since doing so between 2004 and 2006.

• Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom has never won a Championship match against Sheffield Wednesday in five attempts (D3 L2).

Image source, Rex Features

Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom was pleased with the Lilywhites' game management after 1-0 win over Hull City, their first win at home since 19 October.

"We've been far more dominant than that in so many games and only got a point, so I'm really pleased that we've come out on top when the margins are really fine.

"We weren't too bothered if they have the ball but I think we gave them too much respect at the start of the game. I felt we were just slightly off. We didn't quite get to the ball and we were a little bit behind the press.

"We stood off them a little bit too much, or that might be credit to them, but then, as the first half wore on, we got better and had our moments but we needed to up it in the second half and I thought we did.

"Until the goal, we were building momentum which was really pleasing and then the goal was fantastic from our point of view. I'm really pleased with it. Then we had to defend well and we managed the game really well."

Preston North End welcome Hull City to Deepdale for a key clash in the bottom half of the table.

Ruben Selles takes charge of his fourth game for the Tigers as he looks to build on Saturday's victory when Hull beat Swansea City.

Visitors Preston are 18th in the Championship table and four points better off than Hull, but with just one win in their past five games.

• Preston North End have not scored in any of their last four league games against Hull City, although they have also only conceded one goal themselves during that time (D3 L1).

• The last two league games between Preston and Hull at Deepdale have ended goalless, more than in the first 30 games between the sides in Preston (one in 1983).

• Preston North End won on Boxing Day last year against Leeds United, beating them 2-1. They last won on consecutive years on December 26 in 2013 (1-0 vs. Carlisle) and 2014 (1-0 vs. Barnsley).

• Hull's only win in their last six Boxing Day matches was away at Preston back in 2018 under Nigel Adkins (D2 L3).

• Preston's Paul Heckingbottom is unbeaten in his last three league meetings with Hull (W2 D1) since losing 1-0 with Barnsley in October 2017.

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Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom expressed his disappointment with the decision to send Liam Lindsay off during his team's 2-1 defeat by Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.

Lindsay was shown a red card for a second booking with seven minutes to go at Loftus Road and the scores level at 1-1.

Down to 10 men, North End then conceded an 89th-minute winner to the Hoops.

"It's not a sending-off. It's totally killed us because we've got all our attacking players on the pitch," Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"We've then got some players out of position and that was a big, big problem for us."

Asked for his thoughts on the game as a whole, he replied: "The best way to sum it up is that we would have been celebrating a draw.

"QPR were the better team – helped by the officials all game, but they were the better team.

"It would have been a big point for us, but they deserved the win.

"QPR were very good and competed against us very well. But the referee helped them out massively. We didn't get any decisions."

QPR welcome Preston to west London on Saturday with both sides seeking to make it seven games unbeaten.

The Lilywhites are a point and two places ahead of the 18th-placed Rs but the sides have identical wins, goals scored and conceded as they have hauled themselves away from the relegation zone.

• QPR won each of their two league games against Preston North End last season without conceding a goal and will be looking to win three in succession for the first time.

• Preston North End have won five of their past eight away league games against QPR (L3), scoring 2+ goals in six of those matches.

• QPR are unbeaten across their past six league games (W3 D3), keeping four clean sheets in their last five – the same amount the London side had kept across their prior 22 league outings combined.

• Preston have won just one of their past 11 league games (D8 L2), though their sole victory in that time did come during their last away match in a 2-0 success over Cardiff City.

• No player in the Championship has won more duels than QPR's Jimmy Dunne so far this season (170), while the defender also ranks third league-wide for clearances made (116).

Image source, Rex Features

Preston North End boss Paul Heckingbottom said Leeds United were within their rights to be upset that Ben Whiteman wasn't sent off in their 1-1 draw on Saturday.

The Lilywhites skipper was booked after 32 minutes for a foul on Brenden Aaronson but avoided a second yellow for a robust challenge on Jayden Bogle four minutes later.

Heckingbottom substituted Whiteman at half-time, fearing the midfielder would eventually be dismissed.

"Definitely," Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire when asked if he can understand why the Whites were unhappy with the decision.

"Straight after that, [Wilfired] Gnonto's running past him and players are clever, especially ball-carrying players that draw in the foul.

"I thought Ben did extremely well there not to make another one. The only decision was do I wait until half-time to do it? So, it was important that we made that change."

Leeds manager Daniel Farke was booked for his protests in the aftermath of Whiteman's tackle on Bogle but felt his caution was unfair.

Having taken the lead through Brad Potts in the 23rd minute, Preston conceded an equaliser in added time when Jack Whatmough prodded Dan James' cross into his own net.

"I don't want to judge the performance of the referee because actually I have a really good relationship with John [Busby] and rate him," Farke told BBC Radio Leeds.

"Obviously I was annoyed with the yellow card against myself. Whiteman was on a yellow and then there was a nasty tackle with a straight leg. It felt like at least a yellow card because it was a decisive foul and a nasty foul.

"I'm not sitting here after the game claiming for red cards but I can also see the reaction, he was substituted at half-time by Paul - an experienced manager, he knows what he has to do in such a moment.

"It would've meant we played against 10 men. I think it would've been a decisive moment of the game. I'm allowed to ask why is it not a yellow card."

Image source, Rex Features

Preston North End boss Paul Heckingbottom is relishing coming up against his former club and Championship promotion favourites Leeds United on Saturday lunchtime.

The 47-year-old managed Leeds for just 16 games in 2018 before being sacked.

"It's always a different feeling when it's one of your former clubs until the game starts but mainly it's because you get asked different questions or there are some familiar faces still there, but really at Leeds there aren't many," Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire.

Preston go into the game having ended a nine-match winless streak with a 2-0 victory at Cardiff City on Wednesday night and the manager is hoping that will lead to an upturn in form.

"We've tried to be really realistic about what we're doing and how we're playing but you can't get away from the fact you need those three points so everyone will feel better without a doubt."

Preston welcome Leeds United to Deepdale on Saturday after picking up their first win in 11 games when they beat Cardiff 2-0 on Wednesday night.

The Whites also picked up three points in midweek in their 3-1 win over Middlesbrough at Elland Road.

Victory for Paul Heckingbottom's side could put further daylight between themselves and the relegation zone, while Leeds are looking to continue their push for automatic promotion.

• Preston North End have won just two of their past 13 league games against Leeds United (D4 L7), though both victories during that time have come at Deepdale including a 2-1 success last season.

• Leeds United will be looking to avoid losing successive away league games against Preston North End for the first time since October 2006 under Dennis Wise.

• Five of Preston's past eight league games at Deepdale have ended in a draw (W2 L1), including each of their previous three matches.

• Leeds have lost two of their past three away league games (W1), as many as in their previous 16 such games (W8 D6).

• Preston manager Paul Heckingbottom has won both previous home games in the EFL against sides he's previously managed, beating Barnsley 2-1 with Leeds in April 2018 and the Tykes against with Sheffield United in March 2022 2-0.