Preston North End vs Norwich City. Sky Bet Championship.
DeepdaleAttendance11,280.
Watch live via the Red Button on Sky Sports Football from 7.40pm
Wednesday 13 February 2019 10:33, UK
Preston manager Alex Neil admits he could opt to freshen up his side for the visit of Sky Bet Championship leaders Norwich.
Neil, who guided the Canaries into the Premier League during his time at Carrow Road, will check on midfielders Ben Pearson and Alan Browne, both taken off in Saturday's win at Bolton.
Goalkeeper Connor Ripley is sidelined by an ankle injury suffered during a practice match which could need surgery. Forwards Louis Moult and Callum Robinson (both hamstring), Billy Bodin and midfielder Josh Harrop (both ACL) are all unavailable.
Norwich will be without midfielder Mario Vrancic for around three weeks because of an ankle injury. The Bosnian was forced off just before half-time of Sunday's East Anglia derby against Ipswich, but will not require surgery.
Midfielder Todd Cantwell (dead leg) and Emi Buendia (ankle) should both feature after picking up minor problems during the 3-0 win. Defender Timm Klose (ankle) and midfielder Moritz Leitner (calf) are both back in full training. Although not yet set for selection, the pair will travel with the squad, who are set to remain in the north-west ahead of Saturday's game at Bolton.
Preston have won none of their three Championship meetings with Norwich under Alex Neil (D2 L1).
Norwich haven't completed a league double over Preston since the 2002-03 season.
Preston haven't drawn four consecutive home league matches since October 2015 under Simon Grayson.
Norwich's current 13-game unbeaten away league run is their longest since joining the Football League in the 1920-21 season.
Preston haven't failed to score in consecutive home Championship matches since November 2017.
Norwich have already scored more away Championship goals during 2018-19 (26) than they managed in the entirety of last season (24).
I like Preston. I think Alan Browne, with the kind of goalscoring form he's been in over the course of the season, adds to their threat and Tom Barkhuizen is also coming back from injury to show what he can do.
There's just something about Norwich, though. The fact they've got so many goals out of Teemu Pukki is just fantastic, they are playing with confidence, they are playing with energy. Yes, it was a good result against Ipswich, but you presume that to be the case; the more eye-catching one was the win against Leeds the week before.
David Prutton predicts: 1-3 (22/1 with Sky Bet)
