Manager Simon Grayson says that Saturday’s trip to the KC Stadium will be the biggest game of the season so far.
The Lilywhites take on Steve Bruce’s Tigers looking to return to winning ways in the league, after the loss to Ipswich the previous weekend.
North End dominated large chunks of the game against Mick McCarthy’s side, last Saturday at Deepdale, but didn’t pick up the win despite dominating the shot count 16 to four, however, confidence was anything but dented as the side knocked out Premier League Watford in PR1 on Tuesday night and head to Humberside looking to go into the international break on a high.
“All the three teams that got relegated, Hull, Burnley and QPR will be looking to get back into the Premier League at the first attempt,” said the gaffer of the clash.
“It is a great stadium, a manager who has been there and done it and they have a host of players still with them who were with them in the Premier League. Hopefully the vultures are hovering over a few of their better players and they go back to the Premier League before the weekend!
“They have some good footballers and it is quite right that they are one of the favourites for the division, but we have shown ourselves already, with good performances against Middlesbrough and Ipswich, that the players can have the belief and confidence they can get the result.
“Our players need to stick to the game plan, whatever that happens to be, to try and achieve another result and if we can do that, then we will have had a good start to the season.
“No disrespect to the teams we have visited so far, this is the biggest surroundings we have played in so far. They were a Premier League team last season and there will be 20,000 plus inside the stadium, all expecting a home victory, so hopefully the coupon gets overturned.”
The Tigers have started the season positively, their only defeat a last minute loss to Charlton last weekend and Steve Bruce be looking to get through to 6pm on Tuesday night without too much dismantling of his Premier League quality squad.
The PNE boss believes that his squad will need to be at their best to pick up the points, but believes that they certainly have the quality to achieve that and end the first month in a good position.
“Hull are one of those teams that mix up the way they play,” he continued. “They can go direct up to the strikers, but they will also play through the likes of Huddlestone, Meyler and Diame – who has just come into the team.
“They will want to get it into the strikers and the wide areas and they have spent good money on players all over the pith.
“Our players will know that they will have to be on their ‘A’ game to make sure we earn the right to compete in the game.
“On the flip side of that I am sure Steve Bruce will have had his scouts watching us in the games so far and will have said ‘Preston aren’t a bad team – they know what they’re doing’ and hopefully we will give a good account for ourselves and add some more points to our tally.”