Match Preview: Huddersfield Town (H)

22 December 2022

Preston North End and Huddersfield Town will meet for a third time this season when the Terriers come to Deepdale on Boxing Day.

Match Information
Venue: Deepdale
Date: Monday 26^th December, 3pm kick-off
Competition: Sky Bet Championship (Matchday 24/46)
Kit: Home kit – available in-store and online!

Supporter Information

Tickets for this fixture will be on sale right up until kick-off from the ticket office, while fans can also buy over the phone on 0344 856 1966 and online from www.mypne.com.

Supporters have until the close of play on Saturday 24^th December to purchase a half season card, which includes this fixture as well as the remaining ten home league matches, with adult prices starting from £175.

The fan zone will be open as usual on the Alan Kelly Town End car park before and after the game, with full details to be confirmed in the matchday information article prior to Monday.

How To Follow The Game

This game will be available to watch for both domestic and overseas viewers, with match passes on sale for £10.

You can also buy audio match or monthly passes, for £2.50 and £4.49 respectively, by clicking here.

There will be the usual coverage before, during, and after the game across our social media channels.

In The Dressing Room

With several senior players having missed the past couple of games through injury, manager Ryan Lowe confirmed in his pre-match press conference that "four or five" would be back involved in training on Friday.

He hopes to have at least two or three available for the match, but their progress would need to be monitored over the next 48 hours.

One man who won't be ready, though, is Robbie Brady who is set to miss at least the next week with a calf issue.

A Look At Our Visitors

While PNE have already faced the Terriers twice this season, only one of those meetings was after Mark Fotheringham’s appointment, and even then it was during the early stages of his time as boss.

This time around, he’s three months into the job, however he probably hasn’t quite yet made the impact in terms of results that he’d have hoped for when he walked through the door for his first managerial role.

His side arrive at Deepdale bottom of the Championship table and with just one win in their last six league matches, and that’s a run of form they won’t want to encounter again during the second half of the campaign.

Going Head To Head

Games played: 98
PNE wins: 38
Draws: 24
Huddersfield Town wins: 36
Last meeting: Huddersfield Town 0-1 PNE, 18^th October 2022

One To Watch

Huddersfield Town have spread their 19 league goals – the lowest amount in the division – throughout nine players so far this season, with Danny Ward and Jordan Rhodes sitting as joint-top scorers with three.

Like Rhodes, Ward is a vastly experienced striker at this level, and more often than not leads the line for the Terriers, with former Blackburn Rovers striker Rhodes used mostly off the bench.

Having scored 14 in the league last season, Ward will be looking for more to add to this campaign’s tally, but he has interestingly not scored in any of his 11 games versus the Lilywhites.

Match Officials

Geoff Eltringham will referee his second Championship game of the season on Monday.

The experienced EFL ref has officiated in the second, third, fourth and fifth tiers of English football so far this campaign, and his most recent PNE fixture was last season’s 1-0 defeat away to Derby County.

At this point of the campaign, he’s shown 31 yellow cards and one red in his nine games as the main official.

Match Reports

Match Report: PNE 1 Huddersfield Town 2

26 December 2022

Preston North End were beaten 2-1 as Huddersfield Town turned the game around after Greg Cunningham’s first-half opener.

Cunningham – who was the match-winner in the 1-0 victory over Huddersfield in October – headed home in the 34^th minute to break the deadlock, but Rhodes scored against the run of play in the 75^th minute for the visitors.

Ten minutes later, the Terriers got a winning goal with Kaine Kesler-Hayden finishing off unmarked at the far post.

North End were unchanged from their last Championship outing, but the bench was boosted by the returns from injury of Alan Browne, Ali McCann and Emil Riis.

Before there were any real chances of note at either end, there was an incident in the middle on 13 minutes when David Kasumu went in late and strongly on Ryan Ledson, but referee Geoff Eltringham decided a yellow card was the fair punishment.

Ben Woodburn had PNE’s first couple of opportunities, firstly heading wide on the end of a Ched Evans cross, before then volleying over the bar on 27 minutes.

The back of the net was found 34 minutes in, though, as Evans and Cunningham attacked Ben Whiteman’s corner from the left, and a header – which appears to have come off of Cunningham last – snuck into Lee Nicholls’ near post.

Huddersfield could have levelled the scoring in the final minute of first-half stoppage time, firstly through Kesler-Hayden who was in space inside the area at the far post but got his shot all wrong, before Duane Holmes then hit over the bar from 25 yards with the final kick of the half.

PNE remained the side on top at the beginning of the second half but it wasn’t until a flurry of chances soon after the 67^th minute that they looked like they may extend their lead.

Fernández saw a shot blocked at close quarters before Evans was then frustrated by goalkeeper Nicholls at the near post.

Nicholls was beaten, though, as Ben Woodburn chipped the ball over the top of him while one-on-one, but his effort landed just inches wide.

Woodburn did then find the back of the net in the next attack, beautifully curling the ball with the outside of his boot into the bottom corner, only to be frustrated by the offside flag which punished Evans.

North End were made to pay for those missed chances on 76 minutes when Brahima Diarra came out on top in a race with Cunningham before finding Rhodes, who equalised for the visitors.

Within two minutes, he was almost giving his side the lead too, denied only by Freddie Woodman’s right-hand post.

The Terriers did get that second goal in the 85^th minute, though, as Jack Rudoni sent a vicious ball across the face of goal and Kesler-Hayden was there at the far post to tap home.

PNE line-up: Woodman; Storey, Lindsay, Cunningham; Potts (Diaby, 90+2), Whiteman, Ledson (McCann, 77), Woodburn, Fernández; Johnson (Browne, 77), Woodburn (Riis, 77); Evans. Subs not used: Cornell, Bauer, Cross-Adair.

Huddersfield Town line-up: Nicholls; Lees, Helik, Boyle; Kesler-Hayden, Hogg, Holmes (Jackson, 90+6), Ruffels; Rudoni, Kasumu (Diarra, 71); Rhodes (Simpson, 89). Subs not used: Bilokapic, Mahoney, Camara, Jackson, Spencer.

Attendance: 16,982 (1,097 away fans)

Referee: Mr G Eltringham.

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