Preston North End face Portsmouth looking to bounce back from their midweek defeat.
AdvertisementAfter losing to Reading on Tuesday PNE are 23rd in the league and eight points off safety.
Portsmouth played Reading last Saturday and also lost but before that they had won seven in nine leaving them 13th in the table and nine points off the play offs.
North End are suffering with injuries. Defenders Sean St Ledger, Conor McLaughlin and David Gray are all out injured.
Ricardo Gardner has left the club after his loan spell at Deepdale ended leaving PNE short of numbers at the back.
Barry Nicholson filled in at right back on Tuesday night and he may be asked to do the same again unless Leon Cort can prove his fitness.
Amine Linganzi, Leon Clarke and Chris Brown are all likely to miss the game but PNE have enough cover in midfield and attack.
Portsmouth’s captain Liam Lawrence hopes to be fit for the game after he suffered an injury against Reading. Ricardo Rocha was sent off against the Royals so he will miss the game for the hosts.
Iain Hume will be crucial for PNE. The forward has scored five in his last five and has been nominated for Championship player of the month.
PNE will need to be wary of their former player David Nugent. The striker was the first North End player to play for England for 49 years when he marked his international debut with a goal in 2007.
After 94 games for the club PNE sold Nugent to Portsmouth for £6m and North End’s fans will be hoping their former hero doesn’t come back to haunt them.
Join us for live coverage at 3pm tomorrow to see if the Lilywhites can take a big step towards safety.