Preston North End get their Carabao Cup campaign underway at the Wham Stadium on Tuesday night, when Alex Neil’s men take on Accrington Stanley.
Both teams started the season with victories in their respective leagues at the season and will be looking to maintain that momentum with cup success on Tuesday night.
Having met just a few short weeks ago, in the middle of pre-season, Stanley and the Lilywhites know plenty of each other’s style and the options available to the respective managers, but this Lancashire derby will not be played on friendly terms.
The Opposition Manager
John Coleman speaking to accringtonstanley.co.uk: “We know a lot about Preston and the way they play. They really impressed me in the pre-season game here, they had a good work ethic and they moved the ball well.
“That night we didn’t play as well as I know we can and we had a bit of a mixed side out, so I think that they’ll definitely see a much better Accrington this time around.
“We learnt a lot from Saturday’s win over Colchester, there was some very good points and some excellent play. There are a few areas we need to brush up on and we’ll speak to the players about certain aspects that we want them to be getting right more often.”
PNE Team News
North End boss Alex Neil revealed that Josh Harrop is not quite ready to make his PNE competitive debut, having sat out Saturday’s opening day win over Sheffield Wednesday at Deepdale.
Other than Harrop, only skipper Tom Clark (Achilles) is out of action, meaning the manager has multiple options to choose from against a side who were victorious against Colchester United on the opening day.
Sean Maguire could be involved against a club where he made 33 appearances for Coleman, who brought him over from Ireland.
The Officials
Experienced match official Eddie Ilderton takes charge of his first PNE encounter since our memorable derby day win over Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park in April 2016.
That year, he also refereed the home draw with Bristol City and he was in charge of two PNE matches the previous year season; March 2015's 1-1 draw at Barnsley and October 2014's home derby day win over Fleetwood Town, when Joe Garner's second half hat-trick gave the Lilywhites a 3-2 win.
Eddie, from Tyne & Wear, is in his 16th season on the Football League list and is a familiar face to North End fans. Astonishingly, this will be his 23rd game in charge of North End, with the Lilywhites only losing two of 23 so far!
Other recent games in charge of PNE before the Fleetwood game were 2013/14 season's Boxing Day win at Carlisle, when Josh Brownhill scored the goal of the season and the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy win at Morecambe in October 2010 - whilst his first was a 3-0 home win over Gillingham way back in February 2003!
Stat Attack
This is only the third time we have ever faced Accrington Stanley in a competitive fixture. The previous occasion was the third round of the FA Cup in 1960/61; we drew 1-1 at Deepdale before overcoming Stanley 4-0 in the replay at Peel Park two days later.
It is a common misconception that Stanley were founder members of the Football League but in fact that was Accrington FC, who were a totally different club. Accrington FC were older than North End, formed in 1876 and they have a special palce in our history, being the first team to take a league point off us in a goalless draw on 20th October 1888. They resigned from the league in 1893 following relegation to the newly created Second Division and folded in 1896. We played Accrington in ten league games, winning six and drawing four.
Stanley were formed in 1891, but did not enter the league until 1921. After several years of financial difficulty, they resigned during the season after we faced each other in the cup. The club folded in 1966 and the current version of Stanley resurrected the club's name in 1968. They finally returned to the Football League in 2006 after winning promotion from the Football Conference.
Match Coverage
This is a Carabao Cup fixture, therefore iFollow live video broadcast is not available, overseas and UK supporters can still receive audio commentary of the game, with Jonathan Breeze and Paul McKenna on air from 7.15pm.
As well as this, our matchday centre on PNE.Com will be in full flow, as well as all the usual coverage on our social media channels of Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. You can interact with us on any of these channels.
Ticket Information
Prices for the game are £15 adults, £10 for 65s and over, students (who must provide ID at the time of purchase and at the turnstile on the night and U18s and it is £5 for U12s.
Tickets are available to buy online at MyPNE.Com until 1.30pm on Tuesday, or by calling 0344 856 1966 before 4pm on matchday.
Accrington Stanley have also confirmed that tickets will be available on the night, but supporters are advised to buy in advance.
Ambulant disabled and carer tickets are priced as above with the carer free of charge. Wheelchair user tickets are to be booked through Accrington Stanley by calling 01254 356950. These tickets are situated in the main stand at pitch side, nearest the away supporters section.
Car parking can be pre-booked by calling Accrington Stanley on 01254 356950 and is priced at £5. Coach travel will be departing both Deepdale and Leyland at 6.15pm and is priced at £10 for all.
Accrington have confirmed that they will not duplicate any tickets under any circumstances, so fans must collect their tickets in advance from Deepdale.