The 2019/20 Sky Bet Championship draft fixtures have been released, with the Lilywhites heading to London for the opening day of the season.
Alex Neil’s side will make the trip to Millwall’s The Den for the August 3rd clash, followed by a local derby for the first home game, as we entertain Paul Cook’s Wigan Athletic on Saturday 10th August.
The festive fixtures see the club travel to Leeds United on Boxing Day, whilst the games against Lancashire rivals Blackburn Rovers take place at Deepdale on Saturday 26th October and at Ewood Park on Saturday 11th January 2020.
All five of the club’s trips to London take place on Saturday’s, with the next one after Millwall being Charlton Athletic on Saturday 2nd November, Queens Park Rangers on 7th December, Fulham on 29th February and Brentford on 18th April.
The club finishes on the road, with a trip to Ashton Gate to play Bristol City in a 12.30pm kick-off on Saturday 2nd May, preceded by our final home game, against Birmingham City, on Saturday 25th April.
Easter sees the team take the trip across the Pennines to face Steve Bruce and his Sheffield Wednesday side at Hillsborough on Good Friday, 19th April, followed by a visit from Nottingham Forest to Deepdale on Easter Monday, 13th April.
As with last season, midweek games are split across Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with the first being a home game on Wednesday 21st August, when Stoke City make the relatively short trip up the M6 and the first away midweek being a trip to Middlesbrough on Tuesday 1st October.
The reverse of the clash with Jonathan Woodgate’s side is our first game of 2020, when we host Boro in PR1 on New Year’s Day, which next year falls on a Wednesday.
At this stage, the fixtures are draft and subject to change and we will also be publishing, later today, details of the dates when television fixtures will be announced for each period during the campaign.
The full list of draft fixtures can be found by clicking here