Preston North End v Cardiff City Championship 7.45 pm kick off Almost a year to the day Cardiff arrive at Deepdale for the first match under the Deepdale floodlights this season, they lost 3-0 that night which meant the end of their manager at that time Paul Trollope. They appointed Neil Warnock as replacement and he steered them to a more than respectable 12th place, as usual Warnock did a lot of transfer business to bolster the Bluebirds with the inspired aquistion of Kenneth Zohore who ended up with 12 goals, he has some serious pace this lad. He also brought in the experienced Sol Bamba. This close season he paid £1.5 million for Lee Tomlin from Brizzle City, Danny Ward from Rotherham plus free transferNathaniel Mendez- Laing from Rochdale who has had a more than impressive start to the season. They dropped their first points of the season on Saturday after drawing with Fulham scoring late on by Ward, they currently are top of the table and as with all Warnock sides will be very well organised and tough to beat. North End are definitely without the injured Pearson although Johnson could return personal view would like to see Harrop start. Last Time Out 25 Neil Etheridge GK 2 Lee Peltier 79' DF 3 Joe Bennett 30' DF 4 Sean Morrison (C) 36' DF 14 Sol Bamba DF 8 Joe Ralls MF 19 Nathaniel Mendez-Laing MF 17 Aron Gunnarsson MF 20 Loïc Damour 63' MF 33 David Junior Hoilett 79' MF 10 Kenneth Zohore 73' FW Substitutes 28 Brian Murphy Sub 5 Bruno Ecuele Manga Sub 6 Jazz Richards Sub 21 Craig Bryson 63' Sub 12 Liam Feeney 79' Sub 7 Lee Tomlin Sub 9 Danny Ward 73'83' Sub Stat Attack: Cardiff City please log in to view this image Cardiff City travel up from the Welsh capital for the 44th league meeting at Deepdale, since their first visit in 1922, and history suggests there might be goals in today’s game. The 2015 goalless draw was only the third here in those 43 previous games and we have scored 109 goals whilst conceding 47. Amongst our big wins, we have scored four goals on three occasions, five goals once, together with six and seven goals twice each. However, the stand out match was the final game of 1966, when hat-tricks from Ernie Hannigan and Welshman Brian Godfrey contributed to a 9-0 victory. This is still our second highest score in a league match and it was the first time we had scored nine goals in a competitive game since beating Burton Swifts 9-2 in the FA Cup in 1893 (although we did score 18 the following season against Reading!). We were 5-0 up at half-time and seemed to take pity on our visitors until a burst of four further goals in a ten minute spell hinted we might reach double figures. That four goal blast included possibly the quickest ever hat-trick by a North End player, with all Godfrey’s goals coming in only five minutes of play. On This Date Barry Siddall, whose 63rd birthday it is on Tuesday, only made one appearance for North End, but what a memorable one it was. New manager John Beck was in charge for the first time for the home game versus Port Vale in December 1992, but there was a goalkeeper crisis on the morning of the match, with all the available keepers ill or injured. Barry was playing for Northwich Victoria after a 20 year career in the Football League, during which he had made 721 appearances including nearly a hundred for Port Vale. He answered the call to fill in, but probably wished he hadn’t. In only the first minute, he fumbled a shot on the plastic pitch to gift Vale the lead, only for North End to equalise three minutes later. However, things got much worse in the second half and we ended up losing 5-2 after a less than inspiring performance between the posts from the 38-year-old stand in. Not the best way to end a distinguished career, but certainly a memorable conclusion. Left back Dean Barrick made his debut on this date in 1995, whilst Stevie May and Eoin Doyle made their first North End appearances two years ago today as substitutes in a 2-1 home defeat to Derby County. We have played 14 home games on this date, winning 11, drawing 1 and losing only 2. The highest scoring match saw us overcome Sunderland 5-3 in 1896, whilst we have scored four goals at home on this date on four other occasions. Last Five Clashes At Deepdale Preston North End 3 (Clarke, Robinson, Hugill) Cardiff City 0, 13th Sept 2016 Preston North End 0 Cardiff City 0, 17th Oct 2015 Preston North End 0 Cardiff City 1 (Whittingham), 25th Apr 2011 Preston North End 3 (Parkin, 2; Brown) Cardiff City 0, 27th Feb 2010 Preston North End 6 (Mellor 2; Parkin, Kennedy (og), Brown, Williamson) Cardiff City 0, 18th Apr 2009 Ref Watch: Cardiff City 1 Hour ago please log in to view this image West Midlands referee Oliver Langford takes charge of Tuesday night’s clash with league leaders Cardiff City at Deepdale. Last season he took charge of three North End games. His first was the live Sky victory over Wigan Athletic back in September 2016, his second, our first match of the new year, at Burton Albion on 2nd January and his third the goalless draw away at Barnsley in February. Oliver also twice took charge of the Lilywhites last season; the goalless draw against Derby County, when Anders Lindegaard made his debut for the club, and the April trip to Middlesbrough. His previous game in change of North End before last season was the clash with Swindon at the County Ground in November 2014. So far this season he has taken charge of nine Championship fixtures, issuing 22 cautions, his last game being Leeds United’s 5-0 home victory over Burton Albion. He will be assisted by Steven Meredith and James Wilson, with Richard Clark the fourth official for the game under the Deepdale floodlights. And here is the oppositions view City are on the road again as they head to Deepdale on Tuesday evening… please log in to view this image Sam Law Neil Warnock’s side will travel to Preston for their second away fixture in a row, as the Bluebirds look to continue their unbeaten start to the season. After their 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage, City make the trip to Lancashire still sitting at the summit of the Sky Bet Championship table after six games. What to expect from the Lilywhites… please log in to view this image Alex Neil’s faced a tough start to the season, but have registered two wins from their opening fixtures. Victories over Sheffield Wednesday and Reading have seen them pick up nine points from a possible 18. Preston currently occupy 11th place in the Sky Bet Championship table, losing just once in the six games they have played. With opponents such as Leeds, Derby and Middlesbrough out of the way, Neil will be hoping his side can better last season’s finish of 11th in his first full season in the hot seat. Jordan Hugill was subject to major interest from a number of sides during the summer, but PNE managed to keep their number nine at Deepdale following the closure of the transfer window. The 25 year-old has been with the club since 2014 and has scored 16 goals in 80 matches for the club. Hugill’s strike partner Callum Robinson also has the potential to cause danger with his blistering pace. Coming through the ranks at Aston Villa, Robinson left Villa Park for the Lilywhites in 2016 and has managed an impressive 10 goals in 38 appearances since then. Neil also has midfielder Paul Gallagher at his disposal for Tuesday evening’s match-up and the 33 year-old is known for his passing ability in the middle of the park. After spending two seasons on loan at Deepdale from Leicester City, Gallagher finally made the move permanent in 2015 and has played in 72 games in the last two seasons. PNE’s transfer window… please log in to view this image The Lilywhites brought in five players over the summer with four permanent deals and a loan being agreed. Goalkeeper Declan Rudd rejoined his former boss from Norwich City after Neil’s departure from Carrow Road, taking the place of former stopper Anders Lindegaard. PNE also signed midfielder Josh Harrop (Manchester United), Darnell Fisher (Rotherham) and Kevin O’Connor from Irish outfit Cork City. The Lilywhites then signed forward Stephy Mavididi from Arsenal on a loan deal until the end of the season. Previous meetings… please log in to view this image The last meeting against Tuesday’s opponents ended in a 2-0 victory for City, a game in which Kenneth Zohore made sure of the points with a remarkable solo effort. The Bluebirds have only lost one of the last six meetings against Preston, scoring six goals in the process. The first ever league fixture between the two teams came back in 1922, a game in which City triumphed 3-0 on home soil. Club connections… please log in to view this image City hero Paul Parry made the move to Lancashire in 2009 following an impressive stint with the Bluebirds. In five years, the former Welsh international made 192 appearances for City, before playing on 80 occasions for the Lilywhites. Irishman Eoin Doyle is another who has played for both clubs, and is currently still on the books with Preston. However, he recently joined Portsmouth a season-long loan, where he lines up alongside City loanees Matty Kennedy and Stuart O’Keefe. Others to play in both Preston and City colours include Peter Sayer and, in more recent years, Jon Parkin. Neil Expects 'Hard Fought' Battle With Bluebirds please log in to view this image Manager Alex Neil is expecting a tough test on Tuesday night when Cardiff City visit Deepdale. Neil Warnock's side sit at the top of the division after six games with 16 points a far, but PNE boss Alex Neil knows his side are capable of getting a result and feels it will be crucial for his side to win their battles all over the pitch. On the challenged posed by the Bluebirds, Neil told iFollow PNE: "I think it's really difficult to play really good football against teams like Cardiff because they are set up to stop you playing. They don't want you to have any part to play in the game and there's nothing wrong with that because we do the same. "We don't like teams getting on the ball and moving it against us, we want to stop them and we want to force our style of play on them so it's going to be a really hard fought game I think. "I don't think it's going to be all silky football, I think there will be a few crunching tackles and a few battles on the pitch and I think whoever comes out the right end of those battles will have the best chance of winning the match. "They are performing well at the moment but as with a lot of games it's fine margins. They get a goal towards the later end of the game against Fulham, I'vewatched the game against Fulham and to be honest the game could have probably gone either way, Fulham had some good chances in the game as well. The gaffer was missing midfield duo Ben Pearson and Daniel Johnson on Saturday, and with other injuries to key players such as Greg Cunningham and Tom Clarke already this season, the gaffer feels it gives other players a chance to prove themselves in his plans. "Josh Earl is a prime example, Tommy Spurr who didn't play a lot of games last year is another good example, Sean Maguire is another, no-one really knew Sean until this season but his performances when he has played means that he's in my team. "Every manager picks what they deem to be their best players at the time, you don't ever pick a team who you think 'oh well I like him so I'm going to play him even though he's not playing well'. "The fact is my responsibility is to the team and to the club to make sure that I pick the guys who I think are going to be the best suited to win us the match and I will always do that. On any changes to his side for the visit of Cardiff, the gaffer continued: "I spoke after we went to Derby about how I probably should have freshened it up a little, with the injuries we've got that becomes more difficult, but it's certainly something that I maybe need to look at."
I think this is going to be the real test. Warnock's teams are always hard to beat and he will motivate the Bluebirds to bounce back from Saturday's setback. It is a pity Pearson is missing, injured but Welch could play a role. I agree with you, Mac, that Harood should start: he is fast and skilled.
Preston North End 3 Cardiff City 0 Att 10796 Harrop 38 Maguire 70 Browne 78 Watching Channel 5 last Saturday night is was apparent that they hadn't done their homework on us, the programme tended to suggest we were a bit dull and boring due to the lack of goals in our matches, wasn't for want of trying in our early games that the goals didn't come as for boring not in the matches I've seen in fact the football under Neil is entertaining because he picks attacking line ups all majority of substitutions are positive and it's fairly obvious that the team believe in what Neil is trying to get them to do. Finally last night the goals arrived added to which the performance of the team on the pitch was tremendous. Cardiff over the 90 minutes had one shot on target which was a tame effort Bamba on the stroke of half time, North End started well with an early effort from Maguire being saved at the second attempt by the slightly iffyn Etheridge, Earl had a shot cleared from the line and Davies should have done better than to head wide from a corner. Ralls fired on miles wide for the visitors. It looked as if we could be in for a tough time when Mendez-Laing twice skinned Fisher and Huntington put in a super tackle to deny Zohore. But once we went ahead it never really looked likely that we would not be taking the points. There was a bit of dispute about the free kick but to be fair to Mr Langford he was crap all night. Harrop shot under the wall and past the keeper from about 25 yards to put us ahead, not great defending or keeping by the visitors. Early Cardiff pressure kept us pinned in our half forabout 10 minutes at the start of the second half but once we had weathered the storm it was all towards the Cardiff goal. Huntington should have hit the target with a free header from a corner and Barkuizen whose form is rapidly improving was unlucky with a header which went wide but with 20 minutes to go Browne, Hugill and Barkuizen all combined to give Maguire a chance to score the second from about 8 yards, his shot being too powerful for the keeper. The third came along eight minutes later, more iffy keeping Etheridge's scuffed clearance found Browne 45 yards from goal, he sent the ball back from where it had come using the outside of his right foot, the keeper in fairness made a great effort to save it but life being a bitch he couldn't game over with just enough time to give Calum Woods 10 minutes on the pitch for the first time since the season before last. All in all tremendous won't always be like that but if we keep playing like that this season could be very interesting. Preston 22 Maxwell 14 Fisher Booked at 7 mins Substituted for Woods at 81'minutes 23 Huntington 20 Davies 32 Earl 8 Browne Substituted for Gallagher at 87'minutes 19 Welsh Booked at 64mins 24 Maguire Substituted for Horgan at 88'minutes 10 Harrop Booked at 75mins 29Barkhuizen 9Hugill Substitutes 7Horgan 12Gallagher 15Woods 17Spurr 27Mavididi 28Hudson 37Robinson Cardiff 25 Etheridge 2 Peltier Booked at 82mins 4 Morrison 14 Bamba Booked at 39mins 3 Bennett 17 Gunnarsson Booked at 24mins 8 Ralls 19 Mendez-Laing 20 Damour Substituted forTomlin at 63'minutes 33 Hoilett Substituted for Feeneyat 63'minutes 10 Zohore Substituted for Ward at 80'minutes Substitutes 5Ecuele Manga 6Richards 7Tomlin 9Ward 12Feeney 21Bryson 28Murphy Preston manager Alex Neil: "That was a really pleasing win and it was no more than we deserved. "I thought we were the better side throughout the match; created the most chances against a team that hasn't lost all year and to be honest, are a good team. "We kept them extremely quiet and I thought we did really well. We had chances prior to scoring the goals - it's not like we didn't have opportunities and we were fortunate." Cardiff manager Neil Warnock told BBC Radio Wales: "It's no excuse because the goals were terrible, but we had eight or nine lads who were not at the game today. "If we hadn't been undefeated I would have made three or four changes for the game... I take a bit of blame because when I looked at them this morning in training they were a little bit jaded. "They get in your faces here and I'm looking forward to playing them at our place if I'm honest, I took a lot of stick on the bench today."
