This Wednesday we have a referee taking charge of his third Preston North End game of the season, but his first away from Deepdale.
The match official for the trip to the Bet365 Stadium, as we take on Michael O’Neill’s Stoke City, 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 the Potters in front of the Sky Sports cameras back in August 2019, as well as the New Year’s Day clash with Middlesbrough in PR1.
His 22 games so far this season, including a Boxing Day trip to Stoke, when they defeated Sheffield Wednesday 3-2, have produced just 69 cautions and no red cards.
His last game prior to Wednesday was Charlton Athletic’s 2-1 home win over Barnsley last weekend.
He will be assisted by Sam Lewis and James Mainwaring, whilst the fourth official will be Anthony Backhouse.