Preston North End

Preston assistant manager Stuart McCall, standing in for suspended Paul Heckingbottom, was pleased for two returning players after his team's late equaliser rescued a point against Norwich City.

McCall told BBC Radio Lancashire: "Naturally, [the late goal] was emotionally very good, especially for the lads involved in the goal. Both Will [Keane] and Pottsy [Brad Potts] have been out for a long, long time so I'm delighted for both of those lads.

"It was the three subs that combined - Andy [Vukcevic] crossed it, Pottsy won a great header and Keano, being in the box, and with no pace on the cross, got in a really good header.

"It's not a game we deserved to lose. It was a tight game on a really difficult surface with not a lot of chances at both ends.

"We've seen since Phil [Clement]'s been in at Norwich they have improved dramatically, so we take the point. One good thing about the lads is that they never know when they're beaten."

Preston will look at how they can "get better" when the January transfer window opens, says boss Paul Heckingbottom.

The Lilywhites have been one of the Championship's surprise packages this season and are in third place ahead of Saturday's home match against Norwich City (12:30 GMT).

"Every window as a club you should be trying to improve," Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"I've tried to be clear with everyone where I think we can get that strategic advantage without losing what we do really well - how do we add to it and get better?

"You're looking towards what that outcome is and trying to make decisions based on that, not reacting to the last result or someone getting injured or coming back."

Preston will have defender Liam Lindsay back from suspension for the game against Norwich while midfielder Ali McCann could also return having been out since late October with a broken arm.

Northern Ireland defender Jamal Lewis remains sidelined because of a hamstring injury with his short-term contract due to expire at the end of the month.

You can hear more Preston North End coverage on BBC Sounds.

23rd placed Norwich City will look to defy the odds and make the ascent up the table under new boss Philippe Clement as they visit third placed Preston North End.

The Canaries have only lost two of their six games under Clement (W2 D2) compared to five defeats in their previous six under former boss Liam Manning.

It's put them within striking distance of safety but North End have one of the toughest defences in the Championship and have not conceded a loss in five games (W2 D3).

With Stoke City lingering just outside the top six, the Lilywhites will need to ensure they extend that run into a sixth game to ensure they stay within the play-off spots.

• Preston won 1-0 in their last league game against Norwich in February, last winning back-to-back meetings with the Canaries in April 2006.

• Norwich have lost just one of their last eight away league games against Preston (W4 D3), and are unbeaten in four since a 3-1 loss in February 2019.

• Since losing their final two home matches in the Championship last season, Preston North End have only lost two of their 11 league games at Deepdale this term (W5 D4 L2).

• After beating Southampton last time out, Norwich will be aiming to win consecutive league matches for the first time since February (5-1 v Swansea and 1-0 v Watford).

• Preston North End striker Daniel Jebbison has scored five goals in his last seven Championship starts, after only netting once in his first 11 starts in the competition (for Sheffield United v Hull City in January 2023).

"Massive credit to two clubs who certainly I didn't have on the list of being in the top six come the end of this season, making a really good go of it.

"It has just epitomised the league. There's just an openness to it and some of those clubs we didn't expect to see there, it's just great.

"It keeps it interesting, it's still wide open for those play-off places."

What's making Preston North End and Hull City surprise play-off contenders in the Championship?

The 72+ team are joined by new Bristol Rovers boss Steve Evans and Barnsley boxer Callum Simpson to dissect the surprise successes in the Championship so far, plus how the Tykes are faring in League One and how Evans feels about replacing pal Darrell Clarke at the Gas in League Two.

Listen to the full episode of 72+ on BBC Sounds.

Preston assistant manager Stuart McCall stood in for the suspended Paul Heckingbottom post-match, following their 2-1 win at Oxford, and he told BBC Radio Lancashire:

"The result was better than the performance. It was a great win, patchy performance.

"All the big teams who have come here have found it difficult. Stoke won here but other than that, they beat Ipswich and Boro, and Leicester drew, so it's a difficult place to come.

"You know what you'll be up against - balls in your box, set-pieces, long throws from 40 yards from your goal - so you have to stand up and be counted.

"The second goal was really nice, and that's the football we can play.

"Today, out of any game, we probably needed [the suspended] Liam Lindsay more than any game, with all the balls coming into the box.

"So with the centre-halves, and Dan [Iversen] coming and collecting it I thought we did quite well defensively."

Preston North End's Thierry Small says it's his and his team-mates' duty to "get people off their seats" when playing for the club.

The 21-year-old, who has started the past three games for North End as a wing-back, says he enjoys playing in the position and how it excites the fans when he gets up the pitch.

"As players we're playing for the fans, we're trying to get people off their seats and try and put performances in so that they can enjoy coming to watch us," he said.

"They spend their hard-earned money to come and watch us, so ultimately we should be trying our best to give them a show and a performance.

"Wing-back is a very demanding position, because you have to attack a lot and defend a lot, be good one-v-one and have an engine on you.

"It's a position that I really enjoy playing, it suits my qualities as a player to a tee, able to get up and down the pitch to affect the game in different ways."

Small is set to start again in Saturday's 12:30 GMT kick-off at Oxford.

The Lilywhites have notched up eight draws so far this season, including in their past two outings, and Small says they need to start winning if they are to stay in the hunt for a play-off place.

"We've got a few draws and now we need to starting turning a few more into wins.

"We need to stay in and around the play-offs as much as we can and really go for a final push when it comes into the latter end of the season, but we have to focus game by game."

Oxford United will look to boost their survival hopes when they welcome play-off chasing Preston North End on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

The U's are two points above the drop zone having played one game more than 22nd-placed Portsmouth and have just one win in their past eight (D4 L3).

The Lilywhites are fifth but have also stuttered slightly in recent weeks with just one win in six (D4), though only one of those has been a defeat.

• Oxford have won six of their past 10 league games against Preston (D2 L2) and won 3-1 at home against the Lilywhites in 2024-25.

• Preston North End have lost five of their past six away league games against Oxford (W1), winning the other 4-0 in February 2000 under David Moyes.

• Having beaten Ipswich 2-1 in their most recent home league game, Oxford are looking for consecutive home league wins for the first time since April.

• Preston have won three of their past seven away league games (D3 L1), as many as in their previous 30 combined. They're looking for consecutive away wins for the first time since February/March 2024 (run of three).

• Oxford boss Gary Rowett has never lost a Championship match against Preston North End (W8 D7), with his 15 games against them the most any manager has taken charge of against an opponent without defeat since the 2004-05 rebrand.

Preston North End assistant Stuart McCall has not ruled out a switch to a back four for the weekend trip to Oxford with Liam Lindsay suspended and fellow centre back Liam Gibson still out injured.

Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom has favoured a three-man defence all season but for Saturday's game at the Kassam Stadium (12:30 GMT) may have to switch his system, due to a lack of resources.

Lindsay was sent off in Tuesday's 1-1 draw against Coventry while Gibson has been out since the end of October.

"We've got Jamal [Lewis], Robbie [Brady] and Lewis Gibson all left-siders who are added to Lindsay being out," McCall told BBC Lancashire.

"We've got options. We can go to a back four no problem at all or we can stick with the back five.

"Flexibility is important. Andrew Hughes can always be bumped up one to left wing back. Odel Offiah can drop into the back three. Thierry Small can play either side.

"When you've got that it does give you more adaptability and we can look at different things in game as well as prior to the game."

With Preston fifth in the Championship and unbeaten in the past five league games, McCall said the togetherness in the changing room is good.

"It's always easy to talk about that when things are going well. You find out when you lose a couple of game, that's when your team spirit comes," he added.

"So it's all well and good and the moment and the lads are in a really good place.

"But we're got to keep our heads on because there's always little bumps bruises along the way.

"It's how you react to your setbacks is the key, that's when you find out what sort of group you've got and we have done that this season."

Adam Cottier
BBC Radio 5Live reporter

Image source, Shutterstock

Twenty games into the season and Preston North End have lost only four times in the Championship. A sturdy summer recruitment drive - a strategic reset after a narrow escape from the drop last season - set them up for this season, so far, of hope and prosperity.

They have become ultra-resilient under Paul Heckingbottom and their gutsy effort to garner a draw under severe pressure from Coventry underlined such a notion.

It also highlighted how worthy they are of the lofty position they find themselves in.

The Championship leaders and top scorers tested North End's resolve on countless occasions only to be denied by blocks, tackles and one incredible save from Daniel Iversen, the North End goalkeeper brought back to the club in the summer. A trusted barrier who regularly excels.

Heckingbottom and his coaching staff took a measured approach to playing with 10 men from the 39th minute onwards. Switching things around astutely, using a strong bench to help not only restrict Coventry, but retain an attacking threat. Streetwise management, and not for the first time in this campaign.

Daniel Jebbison is another recruit with passion and endeavour. He made the most of his chance to equalise in some style.

North End deserved something from this latest test of their promotion credentials.

The fight to end the long wait for top-flight football at Deepdale heads on into the deep winter. This North End group might just have the stamina required to do something amazing.

Preston manager Paul Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire: "We've had two top performances, in different ways, and we only get two points.

"It's always about winning but I couldn't be any prouder of the players today, they were magnificent. They showed what we're all about.

"When we had the ball they recovered well and we found it hard to break them down, but I always felt when we were trying to press they were getting their players in behind us, [Jack] Rudoni and Haji Wright, that was their threat.

"It didn't lead to a goal but it led to a sending-off. Both teams were playing the conditions - it was windy, gusty, bobbly, scrappy and the sending-off changed the dynamic of the game totally and the pattern was set.

"We went 5-3-1 to keep that coverage across the pitch so it was a tough shift for Jebbo [Daniel Jebbison].

"We defended really really well and Dan [Iversen] had his moment with the save, their [deflected] goal was the only way he was going to get beaten."

Image source, Getty Images

The FA Cup third round draw was made on Monday evening, with all 24 Championship clubs entering at this stage of the competition.

Ties will take place between Thursday, 8 January and Monday, 12 January.

These are the ties involving Championship clubs:

• Cambridge United v Birmingham City

• Hull City v Blackburn Rovers

• Bristol City v Watford

• Charlton Athletic v Chelsea

• Stoke City v Coventry

• Derby County v Leeds United

• Ipswich Town v Blackpool

• Cheltenham Town v Leicester City

• Fulham v Middlesbrough

• Burnley v Millwall

• Norwich City v Walsall

• MK Dons v Oxford United

• Portsmouth v Arsenal

• Preston North End v Wigan Athletic

• West Ham United v Queens Park Rangers

• Sheffield United v Mansfield Town

• Sheffield Wednesday v Brentford

• Doncaster Rovers v Southampton

• Swansea City v West Bromwich Albion

• Wrexham v Nottingham Forest

You can see the full draw here.

Image source, Opta

Coventry will seek to get back to winning ways as they head to bogey-ground Deepdale to take on Preston on Tuesday (19:45 GMT).

The Sky Blues lost for just the second time in 19 Championship games on Saturday, going down 3-0 at Ipswich, who moved ahead of fifth-placed North End on goal difference after the Lilywhites had to settle for a 1-1 draw at home to Wrexham.

While City have a seven-point lead at the top, despite losing two of their past four away games, North End have suffered only one defeat in their past eight games but could finish the night anywhere from third to eighth depending on the results at Deepdale and elsewhere.

• Preston lost their last league match against Coventry in February, ending a 22-game unbeaten run against them. They've never lost consecutive league games against the Sky Blues before.

• Coventry have never won in 23 away league games against Preston (D8 L15), both the most they've faced a side on the road without ever winning and the most Preston have faced a side at home without defeat.

• Preston have won just one of their past nine midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) Championship games (D6 L2), beating Swansea City 2-1 last month.

• Coventry have won all four of their midweek (Tues, Weds, Thurs) Championship games this season, scoring 13 goals and conceding just four.

• Paul Heckingbottom has won all three of his home league games against Coventry, with each victory coming in charge of a different club (Barnsley in March 2016, Sheffield United in December 2022 and Preston last season).

Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom spoke to BBC Radio Lancashire after his side's 1-1 draw with Wrexham.

"You'll do well to create that much in a Championship game between now and the end of the season," he said.

"Their goal was a soft one. If you make three mistakes in a row you'll concede goals, it was unlike us.

"The response was brilliant and the performance was brilliant.

"I expect us to make mistakes because I want us to be brave and try and win the game. I enjoyed it."

This is a first league meeting (15:00 GMT) between Preston North End and Wrexham for a quarter of a century.

Preston are looking to avoid back-to-back home league defeats for the first time since April while Wrexham head to Deepdale on the Championship's current longest unbeaten run of eight games.

• Preston are unbeaten in their past five league games against Wrexham (W3 D2), with this their first meeting since a 1-0 home win in March 2000.

• In a run stretching back to 1982, Wrexham have lost six of their past seven away league games against Preston, winning the other 1-0 in October 1997.

• Preston have lost two of their past four home league games (W2), as many as they had in their previous 21 at Deepdale (W7 D12).

• Wrexham are unbeaten in their past eight league games, alternating between a victory (4) and a draw (4) each time. They drew 1-1 against Blackburn Rovers last time out.

• No side in England's top four tiers has drawn more league games than Wrexham this season, with their eight stalemates the most of any side in the Championship.

Preston North End will look to rotate their squad during a busy period of fixtures, but only if they can get some players back from injury, says boss Paul Heckingbottom.

The Lilywhites have eight Championship games in the next four weeks as they look to maintain their promotion challenge which has them currently in fifth place in the table.

Preston are missing Jamal Lewis (hamstring), Lewis Gibson (thigh), Ali McCann (broken arm), Brad Potts (hamstring) and Robbie Brady (calf) with Heckingbottom keen to have them back as soon as possible.

"If we can get the players back we'll need to rotate the squad, 100%, and we will do," he told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"The more we get back I think we should (rotate) as we've got a strong squad."

Defender Lewis is the latest to join the injury list with Heckingbottom revealing the Northern Ireland international will be out for at least two weeks with his short-term deal due to expire on 30 December.

"I wish one or two were further on in their recoveries than they are but we still need the bodies not only for performance but because we're coming into a busy period between now and 2026," added the Preston manager.

Preston host Wrexham in the Championship on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

Image source, Getty Images

It is not impossible to believe Preston could win promotion to the Premier League for the first time, says former North End striker Brett Ormerod.

The Lilywhites are fifth in the Championship after Saturday's 3-2 win at Sheffield Wednesday, having lost just one of their past seven games.

"When we got promoted with Ian Holloway (at Blackpool), [it shows] anything is possible," Ormerod told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"It gets tougher every year because of the teams coming down and the money involved.

"You look at the Championship and there aren't many who haven't been in the Premier League before - Preston haven't so they are up against it."

Preston lost in both the 2001 and 2005 play-off finals but Ormerod believes with some strengthening in the transfer window they could sustain another promotion challenge.

"They have to cut their cloth accordingly but there's a bit of optimism there and can they get to January in this same position and maybe get a couple of signings for that run-in?" he added.

"If he (boss Paul Heckingbottom) can stay in that top six over the Christmas period it gives him a stronger hand to go to the board and say 'how ambitious are we?' Because Preston have always been a nearly team."

Preston are next in action at home to Wrexham on Saturday, 6 December (15:00 GMT).

Image source, Getty Images

Preston North End boss Paul Heckingbottom has been charged by the FA with misconduct following their Championship fixture against Watford in November.

The Lilywhites were held to a draw at Vicarage Road after Mamadou Doumbia cancelled out Daniel Jebbison's opener.

It is alleged, external Heckingbottom "acted in an improper manner and/or used abusive and/or insulting words towards a match official" during the pre-match briefing.

Heckingbottom has until Wednesday to provide a response.