PRESTON PREVIEW

8 December 2021

Everything you need to know ahead of this weekend's trip to take on Preston North End in Sky Bet Championship action.

We are back on the road on Saturday, making the journey across to Preston to take on North End at Deepdale in a 3pm kick-off.

It will be attempt number 11 at registering a first away victory this season, and head coach, Poya Asbaghi will also be looking to lead the Reds to a first win under his tutelage.

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The Swedish boss has seen his side pick up back-to-back draws now, in improved performances, but will be looking for a big three points this weekend before welcoming in the festive fixtures.

Last time out, the Reds had to come from behind at Oakwell to salvage a point in last Saturday's Yorkshire derby with Huddersfield Town.

After falling behind midway through the first half, Asbaghi's men hit back in stoppage time just before the half-time break, as fit-again Carlton Morris fired home with precision to make sure Barnsley claimed a deserved share of the spoils.

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ALTERNATIVE ANGLE | HUDDERSFIELD TOWN (H)

Taking a look back at the Terriers clash through our in-house club camera.

It was a more attacking Reds performance, with plenty of enterprising football on display, and again the opposition were limited in terms of their own opportunities, as Poya's work on the training ground continued to bear fruit.

But with the gap to safety remaining at eight points, the need for what would be just a third league victory is badly required, if the fight to stay up is to be a successful one.

The glut of fixtures at this time of the year does indeed offer hope to struggling sides, but at the same time, if you're not winning games, the gap could very well increase and become somewhat insurmountable.

This weekend sees us up against a side who've just appointed a new manager themselves. During the week, North End replaced Frankie McAvoy with Ryan Lowe.

Preston are stuck in mid-table this term, on 25 points coming into this clash. It's been a very inconsistent campaign so far, but a change in the dugout looks a little harsh on McAvoy. But we aren't privy to the expectations at Deepdale, and in Lowe, they've appointed a highly-rated young manager.

The Liverpudlian - a former lower league striker in his playing days with the likes of Sheffield Wednesday - has done a terrific job at Home Park with Plymouth Argyle in recent years, earning promotion in 2020, and left the Greens in 4th position in League One. And he's promising an attacking, exciting brand of football, starting this weekend against the struggling Reds.

Our hosts on Saturday have a plethora of talented footballers, with a good mixture of youth combined with experience. And in amongst that group are a couple of familiar faces in midfielder Brad Potts and defender Liam Lindsay, who enjoyed two-year spells at Oakwell as recently as 2019.

But it's the evergreen Ched Evans who we see as the main threat for PNE. Always a thorn in our side, the former Man City forward even grabbed himself a customary goal in last season's clash at this venue, and after some injury issues this term, he's scored twice in his last three appearances.

That 2-0 defeat at Deepdale at the end of last season followed up our 5-1 hammering there in 2019. We've to go back to 2016 for our last victory in Preston, a 2-1 win courtesy of Adam Armstrong's outstanding solo goal.

The man in the middle for this weekend's game will be Keith Stroud. The Hampshire-based official, one of the most experienced on the circuit, will take control of his first Reds game of the season.

He oversaw three of our games last term, all at Oakwell. A defeat against Bournemouth, a draw against Derby County and then a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough.

In terms of domestic streaming, a reminder that the EFL returned to the position held pre-pandemic, where any games kicking off between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on Saturday afternoons are prohibited.

However, supporters in the UK are able to buy audio passes via iFollow Barnsley.

Our overseas fans can enjoy live streaming of the game, with a match pass priced at £10.

For further information on iFollow for this season, and how to activate seasonal subscriptions, please click the link below.

iFollow

Match Reports

REDS BEATEN AT PRESTON

11 December 2021

Barnsley fell to a 2-1 defeat against Preston North End in the Sky Bet Championship on Saturday afternoon.

Strikes from Alan Browne and Daniel Johnson, either side of Cauley Woodrow’s equaliser, were enough to give the hosts all three points on a miserable afternoon at Deepdale.

After a slow start from the Reds, we came close to opening the scoring when Carlton Morris rattled the crossbar with a header from Woodrow’s magnificent inswinging cross.

Moments later, the skipper saw his own attempt loop over the frame as he was picked out by Claudio Gomes in a similar position.

The hosts had a glorious opportunity to take the lead when a through ball to Sean Maguire took out virtually the entire Barnsley backline, but Michał Helik was on hand to see out the danger with a sensational piece of play to narrow the angle and prevent a pass to the unmarked Emil Riis.

The Reds continued to have moments of joy, particularly through Morris on the left flank, who fizzed an inviting ball across the face of goal that Clarke Oduor just couldn’t get enough purchase on.

As time ticked away in the first half, Woodrow tested Daniel Iversen from distance, but the North End stopper was equal to his effort and gathered comfortably.

HALF-TIME: Preston North End 0-0 Barnsley

We came out flying after the restart and had two good chances in a matter of moments. First, Callum Styles picked out Clarke Oduor on the edge of the box, but his shot was saved low down by Iversen.

Then, Woodrow took aim from 25-yards and bent an exquisite strike agonisingly wide of the far post that the travelling supporters behind the net thought was in all the way.

However, as Johnson burst through the middle, space opened up for Browne on the right flank and the Preston skipper was able to drill home at the near post to give his side the lead.

Barnsley rallied after that set-back against the run of play and, following marvellous work from Romal Palmer in the channel, the ball fell to Brittain who hit it on the half-volley and Woodrow was perfectly placed to nod in from close range to level the scores midway through the half.

The hosts were ahead with 12 minutes remaining, though, as they worked a free-kick routine to Johnson, who fired home unmarked from eight-yards.

Despite changing to a back four with a couple of tactical tweaks, the Reds were unable to muster up a second equaliser and headed back to South Yorkshire empty handed.

FULL-TIME: Preston North End 2-1 Barnsley

REDS XI: Collins (GK), Helik, Andersen, Kitching, Brittain, Gomes, Palmer, Styles (Benson, 83), Oduor (Leya Iseka, 77), Woodrow (C) (Adeboyejo, 83), Morris.

Not used: Jinadu (GK), J Williams, Moon, Vita.

PNE XI: Iversen (GK), Van Den Berg, Whiteman, Bauer, Browne (C), Johnson (Potts, 90), McCann (Ledson, 69), Hughes, Riis, Maguire (Sinclair, 69), Earl.

Not used: Hudson (GK), Cunningham, Lindsay, Rafferty.

Ticket News

TICKETS | PRESTON NORTH END (A)

16 November 2021

The Reds take on PNE in December and tickets for this fixture will go on sale next week.

We have received an initial allocation of 1,567 tickets in the Bill Shankly Kop for our upcoming fixture at Deepdale on Saturday 11 December, kick-off 3pm.

Further allocations are available upon request.

Tickets for this clash will be available to purchase on general sale from Monday 22 November.

Prices
Adult: £24
Senior Over 65: £16
Young Adult (19-24 years): £15
Juvenile Under 19: £8
Juvenile Under 11: £2

Ambulant disabled supporters and wheelchair users will pay their relevant age-related category with an assistant’s ticket being free of charge if required.

Additional Information from PNE

Juveniles under 14 must be accompanied by an adult 18+.

Concourse facilities are card payments only.

Official Club Coach Travel departs at 11am priced at £20 per seat. Strictly no alcohol is permitted. Juveniles Under 16 must be accompanied by a responsible adult aged 18+.

*Please read the additional information from Wilfreda Beehive below.

The postage deadline for this game is 3pm Wednesday 8 December. Tickets will remain on sale from the Box Office until 12pm on Friday 10 December, subject to availability.

If you are purchasing away game and cup tickets for other people, we strongly advise you to correctly assign the ticket to each individual for every game. This will enable us to offer the correct privileges to supporters on occasions when tickets are on restricted sales in a category system.

WE WILL NOT ACCEPT TICKET STUBS WHEN TICKETS ARE ON RESTRICTED SALE. ONLY TICKETS PURCHASED IN ADVANCE AND CORRECTLY ASSIGNED WILL COUNT TOWARDS ANY REQUESTED QUALIFYING CRITERIA