Derby County Vs Preston North End Match Preview
Npower Championship Saturday 16th October 2010 15:00 Kick-off
North End emerge from the international break being having been unbeaten in their last 3 games after excellent away wins at both the Ricoh Arena, Elland Road and a draw at home to Reading.
Next up for the Lilywhites is a trip to Pride Park to take on Nigel Clough's Derby County, a side that handed North End an embarrassing 5-3 defeat the last time the two sides met.
Looking to atone for that 5-3 defeat, Darren Ferguson will be hoping the break has left his side refreshed and raring to go.
A handful of first-team regulars such as Callum Davidson, Keith Treacy and Adam Barton have been pinpointed as those who were jaded and in need of a rest.
The Rams are on an identical run of 3 games unbeaten having picked up two wins and a draw lying in 14th place, just two points ahead of Preston - testament to how tight the league is already.
A win for North End would see Darren Ferguson's side leapfrog their Derbyshire counterparts in the table.
Previous Meetings
North End's last trip to Pride Park resulted in an eight goal thriller.
In February this year, North End took an early lead at Pride Park through Jon Parkin but, much like the Leeds game, found themselves behind shortly after.
A Billy Jones own goal levelled for The Rams before Kris Commons had the home side 2-1 up shortly after the restart. Sedgwick equalised before the game went completely ballistic.
A Rob Hulse brace either side of a Shaun Barker effort made it 5-2, before Chris Brown added a 3rd for the Lilywhites.
In total there have been 107 meetings between Derby and Preston, 54 on Derbyshire soil. Of this 54, the Rams have 29 wins with Preston having just 15.
For more head-to-head stats click here
Team News
Manchester United loanees Matt James and Josh King have both been back in training and should be fit for Saturday's fixture.
Another abstentee who has been back in full training is Barry Nicholson but gaffer Darren Ferguson won't be able to call upon the former Aberdeen man until mid November at the earliest.
For the home team, goalkeeper Stephen Bywater is set to miss out after an awkward fall injured his wrist leaving the former West Ham stopper with a small fracture.
Striker Shefki Kuqi is likely to return after missing the Swansea game due to a term in the striker's loan agreement. Either Luke more or Ryan Noble may lose their starting places.
Dean Leacock (hamstring), Gareth Roberts (hamstring), Steven Davies (knee), Miles Addison (foot), Russell Anderson (groin) and Jake Buxton (back) have all been missing in recent weeks but the international break means that they may stand a chance of being in contention.