The Lilywhites play their one and only home friendly of the 2016/17 pre-season this Saturday, taking on Mark Hughes’ Stoke City at Deepdale.
The visitors from the Potteries have a talented squad that could even be added to before the weekend, having been linked in the press to Liverpool’s Welsh star Joe Allen and West Brom’s England U21 forward Saido Berahino, so there could be plenty of interest in the game.
Hughes, who is preparing for his fourth season as City boss, is eager to improve on three consecutive ninth place finishes and believes there are plenty of positives that could persuade any possible incomings.
“We want the quality of the group to improve, raise us to the next level and take us to the next step going forward”, the Welshman said to stokecityfc.com. “What we have here is continuity and longevity, I’ve been here three years now and we have a number of players who have been here right from that offset.
“That’s the advantage we have here, we’re trying to build on the work we’re doing and progress at the right rate. We’re not trying to throw huge amount and getting a large number of players in, we want the right players coming in at the right time.
“We are addressing key areas and positions that we feel we can improve on and if the right players become available then we will be interested.”
North End boss Simon Grayson did a lot of his work in the transfer market very early on and Saturday could see home debuts for Ben Pringle, Simon Makienok and Chris Maxwell, with fellow summer recruits Anders Lindegaard, Eoin Doyle and Callum Robinson all returning for their second and in Callum’s case, fourth home debut!
Those players that won’t be on duty for the Lilywhites include the unlucky Calum Woods, ruled out for the season after the knee injury he suffered at Oldham, new defensive recruit Tommy Spurr and of course Stevie May, who is still a few months off a return to first team action.
Ticket Information
Prices for the game are just £10 for adults, and £5 for concessions in all areas.
Tickets are available online at MyPNE.Com, by calling the ticket hotline on 0344 856 1966 or in person from the ticket office.
You can of course buy on the day and seats in all parts of the ground are available both from the Sir Tom Finney ticket office from 9am until after kick-off on matchday and from 1pm until afetr kick-off at the Invincibles ticket office.
Corporate hospitality is also available for this match, with the Invincibles Lounge, the Sir Tom Finney Lounge and our executive boxes available for the fixture.
Prices for the lounges are £25, with concessions priced at £20, this package includes a one course hot dish, and half-time refreshments.
Executive boxes are available for £800 plus vat for ten people, which includes a two course meal.
To book any of the above hospitality packages, please contact our commercial team on 0344 856 1960. Alternatively, you can email the team at commercial@pne.com.
Match official
Referee Jeremy Simpson takes charge of this afternoon’s game at Deepdale. The Lancashire-born referee took charge of a number Championship games last season, and officiated a total of 35 games throughout the EFL and cup competitions. In those games, Mr Simpson handed out 115 yellow cards and five reds.
Last Time We Met At Deepdale
It’s been eight years since the Lilywhites went head to head with the Potters, with North End running out as 2-0 winners last time out.
A first half brace from Richard Chaplow at Deepdale secured the three points for North End against league leaders Stoke City to take PNE out of the bottom three of the Championship.
Chaplow opened the scoring midway through the first half when he poked in a knock-down from Youl Mawene.
The midfielder then doubled North End’s advantage with a 20-yard strike, before being taken off in the second half due to injury.
Stoke had chances to get back in to the game through former North Ender Ricardo Fuller, Ryan Shawcross and Liam Lawrence, but the game ended with a clean sheet for goalkeeper Andy Lonergan.
The game was the first of six wins in eight games for the Lilywhites as they climbed the Championship table to secure their place in the division, finishing in 15th place.
The One And Only
A 32-page matchday programme is available on sale from Friday afternoon for just £2. This includes interviews with four of the summer recruits; Chris Maxwell, Anders Lindegaard, Simon Makienok and Tommy Spurr.
There is also a full double page spread of the fixtures and nine pages of content about our Premier League opponents who will have made the short journey up the M6 for the game. Make sure you get your copy from one of our sellers inside and outside the ground or from the club shop.
Live Coverage
Can't get to the game? Don't worry, if you sign up to PNE PlayerHD you can watch the game live! We have full streamed video coverage with commentary from Jonathan Breeze, who will be joined by a former player to give you the full low down on the only home pre-season game. They will be on air from 2.50pm.
We'll also cover the game via our social media channels and have post-match reaction, interviews, reports and photos online here on PNE.Com as soon as possible after the game, plus highlights online from Sunday on PNE PlayerHD.
Finney’s Bar
Finney's will be open from 11.30am until 3pm. Their hot dish of the day is a mild chicken curry with pilau rice and naan bread. They also serve bacon and sausage barms, a range of hot pies and confectionary. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are available.
Did you know that Finney's Cafe and Sports Bar is available for hire by clubs, associations and institutions? If you are looking for a unique venue to host your meeting, come along and view their facilities, which can be tailored to suit your specific requirements. They serve a range of hot and cold refreshments together with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Call Finney's on 01772 804 050.
Hughes, who is preparing for his fourth season as City boss, is eager to improve on three consecutive ninth place finishes and believes there are plenty of positives that could persuade any possible incomings.
“We want the quality of the group to improve, raise us to the next level and take us to the next step going forward”, the Welshman said to stokecityfc.com. “What we have here is continuity and longevity, I’ve been here three years now and we have a number of players who have been here right from that offset.
“That’s the advantage we have here, we’re trying to build on the work we’re doing and progress at the right rate. We’re not trying to throw huge amount and getting a large number of players in, we want the right players coming in at the right time.
“We are addressing key areas and positions that we feel we can improve on and if the right players become available then we will be interested.”
North End boss Simon Grayson did a lot of his work in the transfer market very early on and Saturday could see home debuts for Ben Pringle, Simon Makienok and Chris Maxwell, with fellow summer recruits Anders Lindegaard, Eoin Doyle and Callum Robinson all returning for their second and in Callum’s case, fourth home debut!
Those players that won’t be on duty for the Lilywhites include the unlucky Calum Woods, ruled out for the season after the knee injury he suffered at Oldham, new defensive recruit Tommy Spurr and of course Stevie May, who is still a few months off a return to first team action.
Ticket Information
Prices for the game are just £10 for adults, and £5 for concessions in all areas.
Tickets are available online at MyPNE.Com, by calling the ticket hotline on 0344 856 1966 or in person from the ticket office.
You can of course buy on the day and seats in all parts of the ground are available both from the Sir Tom Finney ticket office from 9am until after kick-off on matchday and from 1pm until afetr kick-off at the Invincibles ticket office.
Corporate hospitality is also available for this match, with the Invincibles Lounge, the Sir Tom Finney Lounge and our executive boxes available for the fixture.
Prices for the lounges are £25, with concessions priced at £20, this package includes a one course hot dish, and half-time refreshments.
Executive boxes are available for £800 plus vat for ten people, which includes a two course meal.
To book any of the above hospitality packages, please contact our commercial team on 0344 856 1960. Alternatively, you can email the team at commercial@pne.com.
Match official
Referee Jeremy Simpson takes charge of this afternoon’s game at Deepdale. The Lancashire-born referee took charge of a number Championship games last season, and officiated a total of 35 games throughout the EFL and cup competitions. In those games, Mr Simpson handed out 115 yellow cards and five reds.
Last Time We Met At Deepdale
It’s been eight years since the Lilywhites went head to head with the Potters, with North End running out as 2-0 winners last time out.
A first half brace from Richard Chaplow at Deepdale secured the three points for North End against league leaders Stoke City to take PNE out of the bottom three of the Championship.
Chaplow opened the scoring midway through the first half when he poked in a knock-down from Youl Mawene.
The midfielder then doubled North End’s advantage with a 20-yard strike, before being taken off in the second half due to injury.
Stoke had chances to get back in to the game through former North Ender Ricardo Fuller, Ryan Shawcross and Liam Lawrence, but the game ended with a clean sheet for goalkeeper Andy Lonergan.
The game was the first of six wins in eight games for the Lilywhites as they climbed the Championship table to secure their place in the division, finishing in 15th place.
The One And Only
A 32-page matchday programme is available on sale from Friday afternoon for just £2. This includes interviews with four of the summer recruits; Chris Maxwell, Anders Lindegaard, Simon Makienok and Tommy Spurr.
There is also a full double page spread of the fixtures and nine pages of content about our Premier League opponents who will have made the short journey up the M6 for the game. Make sure you get your copy from one of our sellers inside and outside the ground or from the club shop.
Live Coverage
Can't get to the game? Don't worry, if you sign up to PNE PlayerHD you can watch the game live! We have full streamed video coverage with commentary from Jonathan Breeze, who will be joined by a former player to give you the full low down on the only home pre-season game. They will be on air from 2.50pm.
We'll also cover the game via our social media channels and have post-match reaction, interviews, reports and photos online here on PNE.Com as soon as possible after the game, plus highlights online from Sunday on PNE PlayerHD.
Finney’s Bar
Finney's will be open from 11.30am until 3pm. Their hot dish of the day is a mild chicken curry with pilau rice and naan bread. They also serve bacon and sausage barms, a range of hot pies and confectionary. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are available.
Did you know that Finney's Cafe and Sports Bar is available for hire by clubs, associations and institutions? If you are looking for a unique venue to host your meeting, come along and view their facilities, which can be tailored to suit your specific requirements. They serve a range of hot and cold refreshments together with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Call Finney's on 01772 804 050.