Preston Welcome Barnsley To Deepdale

Barnsley come to Deepdale on Boxing Day looking to make it three wins on the trot after beating Chester and Leyton Orient in their last two outings.

The Tykes sit in 14th place in the league with 26 points from 21 games, seven of those games have been victories.

Last time out they took on Leyton Orient at Oakwell and managed a good 2-0 win, but apart from Chester in the FA Cup, you have to look back to the 14th November to find their last win when they came out better off from a home encounter with Colchester.

The last time Barnsley came to Preston was back in November 2010 when they won 2-1. Craig Morgan gave Preston an early lead but Adam Hammill had the sides level again on the stroke of half time, then Garry O’Connor hit the winner for the visitors in the last minute.

Lets hope for better this time.

Vital Quotes:

Simon Grayson

“Obviously European teams all have their break but obviously over here, it`s a tradition that we have the game and it`s brilliant to be fair. As a player I used to look forward to it, the supporters do, gets them out of the house and get a bit of fresh air into them after a lot of food and drink and no better game than a Yorkshire/Lancashire derby game.

‘So we are looking forward to it, obviously we are pleased with how the result went against Peterborough, we carry on with the rest of the fixtures over the festive period and get some positive results.

Preston North End Team News:

Preston forward Paul Gallagher (ankle) will be assessed before kick-off.

Defenders David Buchanan (hamstring) and Bailey Wright (groin) could return to action after playing in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Monday.

Player to watch: Paul Huntington

Solid defender who can play a bit, also has an eye for a goal.

Barnsley Team News:

Barnsley will be without goalkeeper Ross Turnbull after deciding not to contest the red card he picked up in the win over Leyton Orient.

Adam Davies will deputise, while on-loan full-back Joe Dudgeon could come into contention following injury.

Player to watch: Conor Hourihane

Very good Irish midfielder who is not shy when it comes to having a shot on goal. Scored last week.

Match Facts & Stats

Barnsley wins (all competitions)- 18

Draws (all competitions)- 11

Preston wins (all competitions) – 21

Ref Watch:

PAUL TIERNEY is the referee, Philip Dermott and Simon Mather are his assistants and the fourth Official is Michael Denton

Match Prediction:

Have to go for a 2-1 win to Preston North End

Next Fixtures:

Sunday 28 Dec 2014
Crewe v Preston