This Wednesday we have a referee taking charge of his third game at Deepdale and also his third PNE match overall.
The match official for the first game of 2020, as we take on Jonathan Woodgate’s Middlesbrough, is John Brooks, now in his second season on the Select Group Two list of referees.
The Leicestershire ref was in charge of North End’s 3-2 home win over Millwall in December 2018 and the 3-1 home victory over Stoke City in front of the Sky Sports cameras back in August 2019.
His 18 games so far this season, including a trip to the Riverside, when they drew 1-1 with Millwall, have produced just 54 cautions and no red cards.
His last game prior to the New Year was Stoke City’s injury-time comeback home win over Sheffield Wednesday at the Bet365 Stadium.
He will be assisted by Mark Jones and Nick Greenhalgh, whilst the fourth official will be Thomas Parsons.