Preston North End are back in Championship action on Saturday afternoon with a trip to Ashton Gate to face Bristol City.
Frankie McAvoy’s men face the Robins at 3pm, two weeks after sealing a third win in succession heading into the international break.
Match Information
Venue: Ashton Gate
Date: Saturday 11th September, 3pm kick-off
Competition: EFL Sky Bet Championship (Matchday 6/46)
Kit: Home kit – available to order here!
Supporter Information
Tickets for this game will remain on sale until 5pm on Friday afternoon both in person from the ticket office and over the phone, while sales from mypne.com will end at 3pm.
Bristol City have confirmed there will be no sales on the day of the game, but supporters who have already purchased tickets can collect them from the away turnstiles at Ashton Gate from 1.30pm.
For those unable to attend, iFollow audio commentary from Guy Clarke and Rob Edwards is available online, while overseas supporters can stream the game live. Find full details on that here.
PNE Team News
McAvoy confirmed that Ched Evans, Liam Lindsay and Tom Barkhuizen have all returned to training for their phased returns after Covid isolation, but the latter is expected to be out for at least another week as he is "not doing too greatly" since coming back, according to the head coach.
In contention to feature will be deadline day signings Josh Murphy and Ali McCann. Murphy joined his team-mates at Euxton at the beginning of the week and played 45 minutes in the Central League draw against Walsall, while McCann has been away with his national side Northern Ireland.
Matthew Olosunde remains out injured alongside long-term absentee Izzy Brown.
The Opposition
Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson told the local media on Thursday that he has "more or less a fit squad" to choose from when they host PNE at Ashton Gate.
The Robins won their most recent match before the international break, picking up a 2-1 win in the Severnside derby away to Cardiff City.
Andreas Weimann was on the scoresheet twice that day and that was his second brace of the season, having bagged two against Reading just two games prior.
Key Stats
PNE have a positive record against Bristol City in recent years, having lost just once in the last 16 meetings between the two.
Daniel Johnson has had a lot of success in those games, too, scoring in each of the last three seasons against the Robins, with the last couple coming from the penalty spot.
Former North End man Matty James has played all 450 minutes so far this Championship season for Bristol City; the midfielder played 30 times during his time on loan at Deepdale from Manchester United.
Our Last Meeting
PNE were beaten 2-0 the last time these sides met at Ashton Gate in January earlier this year.
Daniel Iversen and Ben Whiteman made their debuts for the club that afternoon, but the Lilywhites were behind inside eight minutes as Famara Diedhiou put his side ahead.
PNE then came close a couple of times through Scott Sinclair and Paul Huntington, with the latter hitting the bar, but Zak Vyner sealed the three points for the hosts.
Man In The Middle
Tim Robinson will referee the weekend's game against Bristol City and you have to go all the way back to December 2017 to find the last time PNE won a game which he took charge of, as the Lilywhites beat Sheffield United 1-0 at home.
The last North End game which Robinson refereed was the away defeat to Wycombe Wanderers earlier this year in March.
Nigel Lugg and Ian Cooper will be assisting him on Saturday, with Christopher Sarginson set to be fourth official.
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