The last time Swansea City played at Deepdale, there was no such thing as the European Union, the inaugural Premiership season was reaching a conclusion, the Government announced the recession was coming to an end, and 2 Unlimited were top of the charts with 'No Limit'. Oh, and the Welshmen won 3-1 as PNE edged ever closer to demotion to division three come the end of the 1992/93 season.
A lot has changed since then (for better or worse, though sadly the recession has reared its ugly head again), with both sides having hit the bottom rung of the Football League ladder before enjoying a resurgence back to the level they currently occupy and hoping to 'football' their way to the top tier.
Optimism abounds in the two camps following an encouraging start to the campaign from both viewpoints, and while Swansea will undoubtedly want to improve their current 18th place in the table, their primary objective of retaining their Championship place looks more than achievable, and they've already dispatched bitter rivals Cardiff as a promising Carling Cup run takes momentum.
Though Deepdale has been deluged with rain in the build up to the game, the playing surface looks in excellent condition as North End look to rectify the disappointment of consecutive league defeats, and thereby maintain the stadium's remarkable 'Tuesday Night Lights' record which sees PNE unbeaten in their last 33 home league fixtures on a Tuesday evening.
THE MANAGER - Roberto Martinez
A cult hero amongst British football fans even before he took the reigns at Swansea, the Spaniard who was once one of the 'Three Amigos' alongside compatriots Jesus Seba and Isidrio Diaz at Wigan Athletic was also well respected as a pundit on Sky's coverage of La Liga as he wound down his playing days.
Though still not officially retired from playing (but without a squad number at the Liberty Stadium), he has taken to management like a duck to water, and earned promotion from League One to the Championship earlier this year at the end of his first full season in charge.
The Catalonian took the reigns in February 2007 and has a proud winning record of well over 50 per cent as the Swans' boss. Now his immediate focus is on recovering from the disappointment of a 4-0 defeat at Reading on Saturday, with some ruthless decisions to be made according to his comments in the South Wales Echo.
"I will probably look to make changes against Preston because it is clear a couple of players need freshening up," thundered Martinez.
"We have the squad to do it and we have some players also coming back from injury. Reading was disappointing, but it was a lesson and we have to learn from it. After these kind of results you can learn a lot. The players were hurt, understandably, and they are not used to that feeling.
"Now we need a reaction to that and to get a result at Preston. We do need to bounce back. It is about away form. I think we have shown we are weak in certain things home and away. The thing is we have probably overshadowed that at home with our strengths. We have to keep growing.
"Preston have started very well and have a lot of experience. They have carried on the momentum they had from last season. I am not surprised by their start. But they have had two bad results and will be looking to respond to that themselves."
Doubts surround Shaun MacDonald, Marcos Painter and the influential Darren Pratley, which could shape Martinez' thinking, though Dutch midfielder Ferrie Bodde should feature before he sits out the game at home to Wolves on Saturday through suspension.
LAST MATCH - Reading 4 Swansea 0
Noel Hunt 19, Doyle 26, 90, Stephen Hunt 40
Swansea were Hunt-ed down by a rampant Reading side on Saturday afternoon, with the Royals now having recorded a remarkable 19 goals in their last four home games - thanks partly to their similarly-named goal machines.
Noel Hunt headed a 19th minute opener to spark a spell of three goals in just over 20 minutes, with Kevin Doyle and Stephen Hunt both striking to give the home side an almost unassailable lead.
Their dominance waned in the second half as Jordi Gomez hit the bar for the Welsh side, but despite coming that close to cutting the lead, an injury time second from Doyle meant that the trip back along the M4 was a fairly quiet one for the majority of the Jacks' supporters.
"You can't just concede the goals we conceded today and that's a huge disappointment," bemoaned manager Roberto Martinez.
Reading: Hahnemann, Rosenior, Bikey, Ingimarsson, Armstrong, Gunnarsson (Cisse 70), Karacan, Stephen Hunt, Kebe (Henry 80), Doyle, Noel Hunt (Long 76). Subs Not Used: Andersen, Kelly.
Swansea: De Vries, Rangel, Williams, Monk, Bessone, Gomez, Bodde, Britton, Pintado, Scotland (Brandy 46), Butler (Gower 46). Subs Not Used: Tate, Orlandi, Tudur-Jones.
LATEST NEWS - Lawrence On Loan To Crewe
Swansea central defender Dennis Lawrence has joined Crewe Alexandra on loan until January.
The 34-year-old, who helped the Swans to promotion from League One last season, has made just one appearance for the Welsh outfit in this campaign.
He told BBC Radio Stoke: "It's a massive opportunity for me to come in and get some games under my belt.
"The Crewe team I know are better than the league table suggests so hopefully we can get some good results."
The 6ft 7ins Trinidad & Tobago international, who played alongside former Crewe keeper Clayton Ince against England this summer, moved to Swansea from Wrexham two years ago.
"I know Clayton Ince from playing internationally so I know a bit about Crewe and the set-up," said Lawrence, who played for his country at the 2006 World Cup. They're a good club and one I'm very happy to be at."
Preston North End v Swansea City - Coca-Cola Championship, Tuesday 30th September 2008, 7.45pm
Click here for full ticket details
