We find ourselves on the banks of the River Trent to face Nottingham Forest only five weeks after meeting at Deepdale.
Although Forest play at the City Ground, from our first contest in 1892 until 1898, we faced each other at their previous home, the Town Ground.
We have a decent league record against our hosts, taking points from 27 of our 45 games at both grounds, with 13 wins and 14 draws. Sadly for us, most of our success was in the early years of our rivalry and we have only won once in the last 11 fixtures.
That solitary win came courtesy of Pawel Abbott’s 36th minute goal and we have only managed two draws in the six matches since.
In the 1930s, we had successive wins by 4-2 then 4-1 but these did not complete eradicate the memories of Forest being the first of only four clubs to score seven goals against us in a league match. They achieved this feat in 1927 after going into half-time five goals ahead and running out 7-0 winners. There have been plenty of other goals over the years, with just a single goalless draw to date.
George Lyall is almost certainly one of the most northerly born players ever to appear in the EFL, being born in Wick on the far north coast of Scotland in 1947. George was brought to Deepdale as an apprentice and made his debut as an 18-year-old in 1966.
Renowned for a ferocious shot, financial troubles at North End saw him sold to Forest in 1972. By that time, he had played 119 times for the Lilywhites and had scored 19 goals. He spent four seasons at Forest and a further two with Hull City before playing for a number of well-known non-league clubs on the east coast, such as Bridlington Town and North Ferriby United.
Other players for both clubs include of course Joe Garner and Paul McKenna as well as Eric Jones and Frank O’Donnell from further back in time.
On This Date
John Barbour made the last of his 12 appearances for North End on this date in 1915, when he scored the only goal in a home win over Blackpool.
A Scot from Glasgow, John joined us from Dundee in the summer of 1914 and made his debut on the opening day of the season away at Grimsby. Although he only made a dozen appearances for North End, he is notable as he was killed on active service during the Great War having joined up later that year. He served as a lance corporal in the Highland Light Infantry and was killed at the Battle of the Somme on 15th July 1916.
Glen Johnstone, the father of Wembley Play-Off winner Sam, also a goalkeeper, made his North End debut 25 years ago on 30th January.
He was unable to help us claim the points as we went down 2-1 at home to Fulham. Glen’s full-time career was cut short by a knee injury the following summer, but he was able to return to non-league football, as well as continue his successful summer occupation as a cricketer.
Controversial Scottish midfielder Ian Davidson made his last appearance for North End on 30th January 1965. He made 78 appearances in two years after joining us from Kilmarnock in 1962, but it the game he missed that he is best remembered for.
Prior to the 1964 FA Cup Final, he was given permission to return home to Scotland, but he was then dropped for the final for disciplinary reasons that were never fully made public. His place went to 17-year-old Howard Kendall, making the youngest ever finalist at the time.
Last Five Games At The City Ground
Nottingham Forest 1 (Maxwell, og) Preston North End 1 (Makienok), 14th December 2016
Nottingham Forest 1 (Oliveira) Preston North End 0, 8th March 2016
Nottingham Forest 0 Preston North End 0, 24th January 2014
Nottingham Forest 2 (Konchesky, Cohen) Preston North End 2 (Nicholson, Jones), 22nd February 2011
Nottingham Forest 3 (McKenna, Adebola, McGugan) Preston North End 0, 19th December 2009