Match Preview: Bristol City (H)

11 January 2024

Preston North End are at Deepdale for the first time this year on Saturday as Bristol City make the journey to Lancashire.

Match Details

Date: Saturday 13^th January, 3pm kick-off
Venue: Deepdale
Competition: Sky Bet Championship
Kit: Home kit

Supporter Information

Tickets for this match will remain on sale up until kick-off in person from the Deepdale ticket office, over the phone on 0344 856 1966, and online.

PNE fans can head to The Gentry Bar from 11am for pre-match drinks and live entertainment, while it will also reopen after full-time. Full opening times and offerings will be confirmed in our Matchday Information article.

The matchday shuttle bus will be running as normal for fans to use, with return tickets costing £6 on-board. Timings for the service are as follows:

Leyland Tesco (Stop A – Car Park) – 1.20pm
The Railway Pub, Leyland – 1.30pm
Ye Olde Hob Inn, Bamber Bridge – 1.35pm
Beam and Brycg Pub, Bamber Bridge – 1.40pm
Arrive at Deepdale, Lowthorpe Road – 2pm

As part of EFL Community Weekend, there will be plenty going on to highlight the work of the Preston North End Community and Education Trust, including programme participants attending and forming a pre-match guard of honour. More details will be confirmed ahead of matchday.

Who’s Available?

Andrew Hughes, who went off injured at Stamford Bridge after colliding with the goalpost, is fit and available for Saturday's match.

Fellow defender Jack Whatmough will be missing again, though, and is expected to be sidelined for the next few weeks with a knee issue.

Aside from Jack, the manager expects to be able to pick from a fully-fit squad for this one.

Opposition Focus

Bristol City arrive at Deepdale following a spirited display against West Ham United in the Emirates FA Cup third round, as they forced a replay in front of their 9,000 travelling fans.

It’s been all change for the Robins since the reverse fixture on the opening day of the season, with former Oxford United head coach Liam Manning now the man in charge.

He’s overseen a decent run of form in recent weeks, having lost just once in their previous six outings, and Manning has challenged his players to reach the same levels on Saturday afternoon that they did last weekend against the Hammers in London.

A Recent Clash

A late strike from Will Keane earned PNE a point at Ashton Gate in the opening fixture of the 2023/24 season.

Follow The Action

Supporters worldwide can listen to the match live on iFollow, with commentary coming from Guy Clarke and Andy Fensome. Audio match and monthly passes are available to buy here.

Fans outside of the UK and Ireland will also have the option to watch the game with a £10 match pass, while half-season passes are still on sale.

You can also find extensive coverage before, during, and after the match here on the club website and across the club’s social media channels.

Match Officials

Referee: Sam Barrott
Assistant Referees: Jonathan Hunt and Daniel Leach
Fourth Official: Simon Mather

Sam Barrott will take charge of a PNE match for the first time in his career this weekend, having made the step up to Championship and occasionally Premier League football this campaign.

In the 24 matches he’s been the main official for so far, he’s shown 77 yellow cards and three reds.

Match Reports

Match Report: PNE 2 Bristol City 0

13 January 2024

A brace from half-time substitute Will Keane earned Preston North End a 2-0 victory at home to Bristol City.

Both goalkeepers came up with important saves in the first half to keep the game level going into the break, at which point PNE chose to make three changes.

One of those was Keane who opened the scoring in the 65^th minute before then taking his tally for the season to eight in the 77^th minute.

Ryan Lowe opted to make one change from the defeat to Chelsea in the Emirates FA Cup last weekend, with Duane Holmes returning to the side.

The visitors had the first chance of the day and it was a presentable one too as Joe Williams sent Taylor Gardner-Hickman on his way in the seventh minute, but Freddie Woodman did well to tip wide.

20 minutes in, Alan Browne poked a clever pass through to Milutin Osmajić and he tried to lob goalkeeper Max O’Leary, although he got the effort wrong on the stretch and it landed well wide.

O’Leary was called into action to save an Andrew Hughes header, while Woodman made a better stop at the other end to tip Gardner-Hickman’s strike over from inside the area.

The goalkeepers were coming out on top in the opening period, epitomised by O’Leary producing another big stop to deal with a powerful close-range effort from Liam Millar.

Heading into half-time goalless, North End made a triple change at the break, with Emil Riis, Keane and Mads Frøkjær all introduced, and that turned out to be an effective move.

Around 90 seconds into the second half, Riis used his pace to latch onto a forward pass and he found Keane, who cleverly spun before firing an effort destined for the top corner, but again O’Leary was there.

The forward then had his head in his hands five minutes later when he volleyed over on the turn from six yards as the ball fell his way from a corner.

Keane didn’t have to wait long for a goal, though, as he capitalised on a loose George Tanner header and nicked in ahead of O’Leary, taking it past the goalkeeper and finding the empty net from 18 yards.

PNE’s tails were up at that point and Millar had a shot blocked, before Frøkjær then had a promising effort saved at the near post.

In the 78^th minute, Keane scored his second of the afternoon, smartly cushioning in at the near post on the end of a superb cross from fellow substitute Riis, cuing more celebrations in front of the Town End.

The Lilywhites professionally saw out the remainder of the game to secure a clean sheet and three points in the opening home match of 2024.

PNE line-up: Woodman; Potts (Brady, 79), Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; Browne (Frøkjær, 45), Whiteman, McCann; Holmes (Riis, 45), Osmajić (Keane, 45), Millar. Subs not used: Cornell, Cunningham, Stewart, Ledson, Best.

Bristol City line-up: O’Leary; Tanner, Vyner, Dickie, Pring; Williams, Gardner-Hickman (James, 75); Bell (Wells, 75), Knight (King, 89), Mehmeti (McCorie, 75); Conway (Cornick, 89). Subs not used: Bajic, Roberts, Knight-Lebel.

Attendance: 14,929 (661 Bristol City fans).

Referee: Mr S Barrott.

Ticket News

Bristol City Home Tickets On Sale

12 December 2023

Tickets for North End's opening home match of 2024 against Bristol City are now on sale.

PNE will face Bristol City at Deepdale on Saturday 13th January, with the action getting underway at 3pm.

Supporters can buy tickets from the ticket office at Deepdale, over the phone on 0344 856 1966, and online.

Tickets are also on sale for the remaining home matches of 2023, against Watford, Leeds United and Sheffield Wednesday, while half-season cards are also available to purchase.

Standings

Get closer to the action this season!

Want to be our new signing?