For our final game before the international break we have a match official who was recently promoted to the Elite Group Two list.
The referee for the clash at the Riverside will be Darren England – the second time he has taken charge of a Preston North End game, both of them away from Deepdale.
His first game was the final match of the 2016/17 season, and it was his first Championship game, in the fixture against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux.
Last year, in total, he took charge of charge of 42 games, including the one in the Black Country, issuing 121 cautions and nine red cards in those fixtures and was chosen to referee the League Two Play-Off Final involving Blackpool at Wembley.
So far this season, he has officiated at the four ‘cities’ of Coventry, Hull, Birmingham and Bristol and this weekend will be assisted by James Mainwaring and Nick Hopton, with Andy Haines acting at fourth official.