Preston North End entertain play-off rivals Hull City at Deepdale in the Sky Bet Championship on Saturday, March 2.
The Lilywhites and Tigers are separated by two places and three points, so Saturday represents an opportunity for PNE to make a statement with another win over a top-six rival. Ryan Lowe's side could go level on points with Hull, who do have a vastly superior goal difference.
Preston don't possess the best record against the Tigers, having not won against them at home since February 2020. The earlier meeting between the two saw a 1-0 win for Hull at the MKM Stadium - with Jaden Philogene scoring the only goal. North End have failed to score in their last three league meetings against Hull.
The visitors are on the search for their first league double over PNE, which came in the 2010/11 campaign. Preston's home form is solid though and they have won three of their last four league matches, which is better than their previous nine games at home. North End aren't struggling to score goals either, averaging 2.4 per game after is 12 in five games.
That's double their average in the first 29 matches of the season. February saw North End go the whole month unbeaten, having only won one game in January. Needless to say, they'll be hoping to extend their six game unbeaten run on Saturday.
Both clubs don't have many injuries to worry about, though there are still some who will miss out. Robbie Brady has had the privilege of playing for both clubs and the Republic of Ireland winger could return to action, after missing last Friday's win at Coventry. Here's the latest injury and team news ahead of kick-off.
1. Brad Potts - out
Brad Potts is expected to return from injury after the international break. He has missed the last three games after sustaining an injury in the 2-0 win against Cardiff City on February 10. It's a hamstring issue that Potts is dealing with at the moment.
2. Liam Delap - out
He is the Tigers' only injury concern. The striker suffered a knee injury in January and was ruled out for three months. Delap won't feature against the club he spent time at, on loan, last season.
3. Liam Delap - out (continued)
Delap has been sent to a warm weather training camp to aid his recovery. “It’s not a holiday, he’s working. He’s going away to do his rehab in the sun,” said Rosenior this week. "The vitamin D will help his recovery levels and he’ll go away and come back, hopefully fresher and hopefully fitter and then we’ll see how it gets."
4. Ched Evans - out
Evans is expected to miss the next few weeks of action after getting a 'clean out' of his knee. He hasn't played since the 4-0 defeat to Chelsea at the start of January and will most likely return after the international break.