Our big preview ahead of Tuesday night's game...
Preston North End
Sky Bet League One
The Lamex Stadium, Stevenage, SG2 8RH
Kick-off: 19:45
Weather forecast: 8°c, cloudy.
Referee: Andy D’Urso
TICKETS:
Tickets are still available at in-advance prices for the game, log into Boro Tickets and make your purchase before 4pm in order to save money on your seat.
LAST TIME WE MET:
TEAM NEWS:
As many will have expected, Jon Mousinho is unavailable for selection due to his loan agreement. Fil Morais is making progress as he continues to battle his way back from injury but tomorrow night may come too soon for the winger. Joe N’Guessan is out for another 10-14 days or so, whilst Michael Doughty should be back in contention.
VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM:
GW spoke to us on Monday afternoon about facing up against his old side.
“We’re on a decent run of form ourselves, we’re starting to shape up and look like a League 1 team that can produce the goods. We’ve played the top 6 clubs; Orient, Peterborough, Rotherham and I think everyone who watched those games knew that we were more than a match for those sides, even though we didn’t get the result.
"We were honest enough with ourselves in looking at those performances and saying, ‘look we’ve been tested by the top sides, fell slightly short’ and of course we’ve brought players in since then so I think we’re a little bit stronger now and results seem to suggest that, so we’re confident that we can do the job. We know it isn’t going to be easy but no win in this league is.”
To watch his full interview, sign into your Boro Player account now.
BETTING:
Stevenage are outsiders with official league sponsors, Sky Bet for the win tomorrow, although a price of 21/10 shows the bookies are wary of an upset. A handicap bet of Boro -1 (to win by two or more goals) is a generous 6/1!
For Jimmy Smith to open up the scoring as he did on Saturday, you can back him at a massive 16/1.
Sign up to Sky Bet through any of the attached links and earn yourself a free £5 bet each week with the free bet club, whilst helping your club earn extra revenue.
RECENT FORM:
Preston are in great form and are currently on a ten game unbeaten run in the league. Last time out, Preston won 3-1 away at Oldham and the victory kept the pressure on Wolves, Leyton Orient and Brentford at the top. Simon Grayson and the team will still be hoping to finish in the automatic promotion spot, as they’re only 4 points away from second place.
VITAL STATISTICS:
Preston have got the best away record in the league with 11 wins, 5 draws and 2 losses away from home. The team have also been tremendous defensively – just 35 goals conceded in 35 games this season.
KEY MAN:
With much of the hype surrounding Kevin Davies’ high profile move to Preston in the summer, it’s been Joe Garner who’s led by example in terms of goal scoring this season. The young striker, brought in by our very own Graham Westley last January, has lit up the league with 20 goals throughout the season. Clearly in the best form of his career, Garner is flourishing under the set-up at Preston.