Changes were made after Preston's poor performance in the cup at Wycombe. Iverson and Whiteman made their debuts whilst Evans and Molumby were on the bench. As per usual Neil stuck to his one man up front in Maguire.
Preston didn't start the game until after the half hour mark and by that time they were already behind. The home side had the majority of the ball and chances in the first thirty minutes.
The goal came early on when Diedhiou managed to find some space and head home from a corner. It was poor defending from a set piece and everyone knows Preston generally find it difficult when going behind.
The home side had a curler just wide and forced Iverson into a good save with another shot from range but the scoreline remained at one nil. Preston were sluggish but then got going after half an hour.
The visitors had their first chance when they worked a position well from the right. The returning Sinclair came onto the ball but his shot inside the box was straight at the keeper. Moments later he had another effort well off target.
North End then had the majority of possession in the second half but as is standard under Alex Neil they lacked any penetration and the City keeper was rarely troubled.
The closest Preston came was from a Whiteman corner which was fizzed in. Huntington directed his header towards goal but it came off the bar.
Whiteman played well dropping back and picking out passes but there were too many poor performances amongst the front players which resulted in Preston drawing another blank. Ched Evans even came on to little effect late on.
The game was wrapped up when Hughes failed to clear only heading to Vyner who was free in the box. He swung his left foot at the box and a heavily sliced shot gave Iverson no chance as it ended up in the back of the net.
The new players will need time to bed in although the majority are only on loan. Essentially, nothing has changed and Preston rarely troubled the hosts despite having a decent chunk of possession.
The games will start to come thick and fast again but Preston's inconsistent season doesn't look like it will change anytime soon.