Preston North End’s U18 side will face two new opponents in the EFL North West Youth Alliance league for the 2019/20 season, once they have come through a seven-game pre-season programme.
There will be a new champion at the end of the season, with last season’s table toppers Wigan Athletic no longer competing in the division, and it is runners-up Rochdale who will be North End’s first competitive opponents of the season with a home game on Saturday 3rd August.
The Lilywhites host Morecambe the following weekend before travelling to face newly promoted EFL side Salford City, who have the joined the Youth Alliance league set-up.
A second interesting away game will follow with a trip to face local rivals Blackpool on 31st August, with the corresponding fixture scheduled for the opening weekend of 2020 on 4th January.
Another away game to look out for falls on 12th October when Oldham Athletic, another new addition to the league’s North West section, host Nick Harrison’s side during the international break.
Two other games will fall during the international break in the league season, with PNE hosting Accrington Stanley in September and Shrewsbury Town in November.
North End welcome the Latics back to Preston on Saturday 22nd February 2019 and will end the campaign at home to Salford on Saturday 2nd May 2020.
In pre-season meanwhile, PNE have seven matches officially lined up for the U18 side, while one other fixture, for a PNE select XI, is likely to be made up of mostly Nick Harrison's squad.
First up is Morecambe this Saturday and the Lilywhites will also take on two other opponents from their league in Salford and Rochdale during pre-season, with fixtures against higher Category sides penned in, with visits to Middlesbrough and Bolton Wanderers after hosting Sheffield Wednesday.
The PNE select XI will be against Longridge Town’s first team. The game is lkely to be mostly club’s scholars involved, with the one other friendly, a home game with Grimsby Town, scheduled for the following day.
Fixture dates and kick-off times are subject to change, sometimes at short notice.
All kick-off times are 11am unless stated otherwise. The youth team's home venue is UCLan Sports Arena, while the locations of away matches are confirmed nearer to the time of the game on @pnefcacademy on Twitter.
Pre-season
6th July – Morecambe (H) 10.30am
13th July – Salford City (H)
16th July – Longridge Town vs PNE XI (A) 7.30pm
17th July – Grimsby Town (H) 12 noon
20th July – Rochdale (A) KO TBC
24th July – Sheffield Wednesday (H) 11.30am
27th July – Middlesbrough (A) 12 noon
31st July – Bolton Wanderers (A)
North West Youth Alliance fixtures
3rd August – Rochdale (H) 10.30am
10th August – Morecambe (H) 10.30am
17th August – Salford City (A)
31st August – Blackpool (A)
7th September – Accrington Stanley (H) 10.30am
21st September – Fleetwood Town (A) 10.30am
28th September – Bury (H) 10.30am
12th October – Oldham Athletic (A) 10.30am
19th October – Walsall (H)
2nd November – Carlisle United (A)
16th November – Shrewsbury Town (H)
23rd November – Tranmere Rovers (A)
30th November – Port Vale (H)
14th December – Accrington Stanley (A)
4th January – Blackpool (H) 10.30am
18th January – Bury (A)
25th January – Fleetwood Town (H) 10.30am
15th February – Walsall (A)
22nd February – Oldham Athletic (H) 10.30am
7th March – Shrewsbury Town (A)
14th March – Carlisle United (H)
21st March – Port Vale (A)
4th April – Tranmere Rovers (H)
18th April – Rochdale (A) 10.30am
25th April – Morecambe (A)
2nd May – Salford City (H)
North End’s Youth Alliance Cup fixtures will also be confirmed on PNE.Com in the next couple of weeks.