Tranmere Rovers Vs Preston North End Match Preview
Npower League One Tuesday 13th March 2012
Venue: Prenton Park
Kick Off: 19:45
Referee: David Webb (click here for referee statistics)
Form:
Tranmere Rovers: DDLLDW
Preston North End: WLDLDD
North End are about to embark on a testing week during which the Lilywhites have three tough, and some could say crucial, away games ahead of them with Tranmere Rovers being the first.
Rovers have been struggling in League One this season but have the added boost of a new manager coming in recently with Ronnie Moore, although not strictly new, is back at Prenton Park giving the Wirral-based side a lift.
The Lilywhites could be the latest side to fall victim to ‘new manager syndrome’ with Rovers unbeaten since the return of more thanks to four points from a possible six.
Along with having not scored in nearly seven hours worth of football, another worrying stat for North End is an average of 0.8 points per game since the end of September when the seven game winning streak came to an end.
This means that North End are officially the side on the worst run of form in the division.
However, a positive performance from Graham Westley’s men on Saturday against Scunthorpe has injected some belief into the players and indeed the supporters.
A win on Tuesday, coupled with results elsewhere, particularly Oldham away to Stevenage, could see the Lilywhites move into the top half and be further towards the playoffs rather than the drop zone.
With North End’s fait resting on a knife edge, the next 3 games could either ensure of a comfortable or, likewise, a nervy end to the campaign.
Previous Meetings (click here for head-to-head stats)
Tranmere’s visit to Deepdale this campaign, which was watched in front of a 17,000 strong Deepdale, resulted in a 2-1 win for the Lilywhites.
Graham Alexander netted his first for the club since his return from Burnley before Jose Baxter equalised on the hour mark.
Danny Mayor came off the bench to net a clinical winner on 71 minutes only to see himself subbed by then manager Phil Brown for “tactical reasons.”
A repeat of that result tomorrow night would be most welcomed by the travelling Preston contingent.
North End’s last trip to Prenton Park wasn’t a particularly memorable one having endured a 4-1 defeat in the League Cup back in September 2001.
In fact, North End are without a win on the Wirral in their last eight attempts with the last win dating back to the mid-80s.
The last win for North End at Prenton Park was on Tuesday 25th March 1986 when North End came away with a 3-2 victory – Cliff Richard’s Living Doll was number 1 in the charts at the time!
Team News
Iain Hume and Danny Mayor are in line to feature against their former club with the former having not played at Prenton Park since his transfer to Leicester in 2005 and the latter since a loan spell three years ago.
With no fresh injury concerns the only absentees remain at Neil Mellor, Craig Morgan and Adam Barton.
For Tranmere, Andy Robinson and Enoch Showumni are doubts having picked up knocks at the weekend but Rovers gaffer Ronnie Moore remains hopeful the pair will feature.
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