Match Preview: Stoke City (H)

14 October 2022

Preston North End return to Deepdale this weekend to take on Stoke City following back-to-back long journeys away from home.

Match Information
Venue: Deepdale
Date: Saturday 15^th October, 3pm kick-off
Competition: Sky Bet Championship (Matchday 15/46)
Kit: Home kit – available in-store and online!

Supporter Information

Tickets for this fixture can be purchased right up until kick-off, with supporters able to buy online from www.mypne.com, in person from the ticket office, and over the phone on 0344 856 1966.

Head down to the ground early to join us in the fan zone before the game, with doors opening at 12 noon. There will be the usual selection of food and drink available to supporters, as well as live music before the game, while the fan zone will also reopen after full-time.

Keep an eye around the ground as Preston North End Community and Education Trust [PNECET] are supporting the launch of ‘Charlie’s Story’, a book written by PNE Academy player Charlie Whalley and his mum Michelle to share his experiences of living with a burn injury. You can find out more about Charlie and what will be going on at Deepdale here.

How To Follow The Game

Supporters in the UK and Ireland can listen to the game live on iFollow PNE, with live commentary coming from Jonathan Breeze and David Buchanan. Subscribe to your match pass here!

Meanwhile, fans overseas are able to watch the game live with a £10 match pass.

We will also be providing our usual coverage before, during, and after the game across our social media platforms and here on PNE.Com.

Matchday Programme

Robbie Brady features on the front cover of our matchday programme and gives a raw, honest interview about his life over the past few years.

North End's No.11 tells us about the difficulties he faced during his time down in Bournemouth, without his wife and two children, but he admits he's much happier now, saying things have "fallen into place" for him since his move to Deepdale.

You can buy a programme from around the ground for £3.50 on Saturday, or order a copy to arrive straight to your home by clicking here.

In The Dressing Room

Ryan Lowe will be able to call upon central defender Jordan Storey once again, after he served his one-game suspension midweek following his accumulation of five yellow cards.

Speaking to the press after that game against Bristol City, the manager confirmed Álvaro Fernández and Liam Lindsay both picked up knocks, and that they would need to be assessed ahead of the weekend.

Troy Parrott will miss out again, with the Tottenham Hotspur forward not expected to return to action until December.

A Look At Our Visitors

There will be a familiar face in the dugout at Deepdale on Saturday, with former PNE boss Alex Neil now in charge of Stoke City.

The Scot, who managed North End between 2017 and 2021, left Sunderland for the Potters in August of this year after enjoying promotion with the Black Cats, and he has since overseen a mixed run of results.

Their most recent outing will give them plenty of confidence, though, having beaten league leaders Sheffield United 3-1 last weekend, in a game which saw Manchester City loanee Liam Delap open his Championship account.

Going Head To Head

Games played: 109
PNE wins: 49
Draws: 24
Stoke City wins: 36
Last meeting: Stoke City 1-2 PNE, 3^rd January 2022

One To Watch

Bringing Lewis Baker to the club in January has proven to be one of the shrewdest pieces of business in the division this calendar year.

Baker – formerly of Chelsea – has been colossal in central midfield for the Potters, boasting an impressive record of 12 goals in his 35 Stoke City appearances.

The former England youth international also holds the extra responsibility of wearing the armband, having been appointed club captain in the summer, and he will no doubt have a big part to play this weekend.

Match Officials

Matthew Donohue will take charge of his first PNE game of the season this weekend.

Donohue has refereed North End five times in his career so far, with the most recent game being the 2-1 victory over AFC Bournemouth at Deepdale last season.

So far this term, Donohue has refereed nine matches, showing 30 yellow cards, and he will be assisted on Saturday by Daniel Leach and Richard Wild, while Adam Herczeg is the fourth official.

Match Reports

Match Report: PNE 0 Stoke City 2

15 October 2022

Two second-half Stoke City goals saw Preston North End beaten in Championship action at Deepdale.

After going into the break level, strikes from Will Smallbone and Tyrese Campbell secured the points for the visitors.

Jordan Storey returned to the starting XI for PNE following suspension, while Alan Browne and Bambo Diaby also came in. Both Daniel Johnson and Liam Lindsay missed out through knocks, and 17-year-old Finlay Cross-Adair was named on the bench for the first time.

The visitors started brightly and Freddie Woodman was called into action 11 minutes in, rushing out to Campbell and denying the forward from close range.

Storey twice came close in the space of a minute, firstly seeing a volley blocked – with appeals for handball – before he saw a header from the resulting corner also intercepted by a defender.

PNE were again asking for a penalty on 40 minutes, when skipper Browne sent a great ball through to Andrew Hughes and, as he made his way into the box, he went down under pressure from a defender, but nothing was given.

Within a minute, Dwight Gayle looked like he had an extra yard on Storey as he raced towards goal, but Storey made up the ground and produced a vital block.

There was still time for another PNE penalty shout in stoppage time, with Josh Laurent clearing straight against what appeared to be teammate Phil Jagielka’s arm, but appeals were again waved away.

Jagielka then had the first real chance of the second half, with the ball falling kindly to the defender, who sent a left-footed volley over the bar.

Stoke did find the opener, though, on 58 minutes, as Gayle sent a low cross into the box from the left for Smallbone to finish into the bottom corner.

The visitors then came closing to doubling that lead soon after, as Campbell sent a dangerous cross into the box for Gayle, whose header fell just inches wide.

That second goal did come on 66 minutes, with a long ball over the top finding Campbell, and the striker calmly curled past Freddie Woodman in goal.

Woodman was then called into action by Gayle and Tarique Fosu in the next stages of the game, before a senior debut was handed to Cross-Adair for PNE, but the home side couldn’t get a goal back and the game ended 2-0.

PNE line-up: Woodman; Storey, Diaby (Evans, 83), Hughes; Browne (Potts, 71), Whiteman, McCann, Brady (Woodburn, 71), Fernández; Maguire (Cross-Adair, 82), Riis. Subs not used: Cornell, Cunningham, Ledson.

Stoke City line-up: Bursik; Wilmot, Jagielka, Fox; Sterling, Laurent, Baker, Smallbone (Clucas, 78), Fosu; Campbell (Delap, 70), Gayle (Clarke, 86). Subs not used: Bonham, Flint, Thompson, Wright-Phillips.

Attendance: 17,498 (3,235 Stoke City fans)

Referee: Mr M Donohue.

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