Match Preview: Preston North End vs. Leicester City

It has been a perfect start to pre-season for Nigel Pearson and his Foxes so far, with wins against , and arriving with polished displays and ruthless finishing. 

But against a North End side that are further along with their preparations for the season, City will most certainly be given the tough workout that the manager will be after. 

Some members of the matchday squad against Walsall on Wednesday played 60 minutes, with that set to be reversed against the Lilywhites, as the squad look to build up their match sharpness ahead of the big kick-off against Everton on 16 August. Only summer signing Matthew Upson (foot) is an injury doubt.

The Opposition:

After flirting with promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs for a decade, the Lilywhites have endured a tough few years that ultimately saw them relegated to League 1 in 2011. 

The Club fought hard to return to the second tier, and since the appointment of former Leicester City defender Simon Grayson as boss in 2013, look almost certain to be heading in that direction in the near future. 

Preston fans will be hoping that their Club’s route back to the Championship lies with automatic promotion this season, after the 2013/14 campaign ended with yet more play-off heartache with a semi-final defeat at the hands of eventual winners Rotherham United – Preston’s ninth unsuccessful play-off campaign. 

However a fifth placed finish and a mightily impressive season under Grayson will have the North End fans optimistic of better times ahead, and if last season is anything to go by, they will certainly be a tough team to break down on home turf. 

The Lilywhites play at Deepdale Stadium, which is recognised as the oldest continuously used professional football site in the world, having opened in 1878 and with a current capacity of 23,404. 

Key Man: 

Joe Garner finished joint fifth in the League One goal scoring charts and was Preston’s top scorer with 18 goals including a spectacular volley against Rotherham in the play-off semi-final first leg. The striker also picked up both Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year at Preston’s End of Season Awards.

Head-to-Head: 

City wins: 12 

Draws: 15 

Preston Wins: 25 

Tickets: 

Leicester have been given an allocation of 2,105 and are available . 

Directions: 

Sat Nav: Sir Tom Finney Way, Preston, PR1 6RU, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 6UU. 

Car: Exit M6 at junction 31, at the roundabout take the first exit (s/p Preston A59) onto the A59. At mini-roundabout after 1.0 miles, by the Hesketh Arms, take the second exit (s/p Ring road, Blackpool A583, Football Ground) onto the Blackpool Road A5085. Carry straight on for 1.2 miles, then filter left before the lights (s/p Town Centre, Football Ground) into Sir Tom Finney Way. The ground is on the left-hand-side. 

Train: Preston railway station is around a mile and a half from the ground.