Preston v Newcastle - Match Preview

Saturday afternoon sees us travel down to Deep Dale, where we are hoping to extend our lead at the top of the table to 6 points, putting a small amount of daylight between us and the competition. Confidence, as expected, is high for this game, based upon Tuesday's rout which sent us into the quarter finals of the EFL cup.

Our opposition sit 9th in the league, but this game may not be as much as a walk over as expected! Preston have a well-disciplined backline (believe it or not) that could make scoring take a little something extra, especially with the probable absence of Dwight Gayle.

Newcastle will be going into this game hoping to make it 6 league wins on the bounce, following on from that convincing 3-0 victory over Ipswich and, on paper, you would expect us to be victorious, as you would against most teams in this league. Preston come into this game having won 3 of their last 4 league games and appear to be in a bit of form domestically; especially after their last result where they did us a huge favour by beating Norwich 1-0 down at Carrow Road.

The key factor in the game will surely be Newcastle’s attacking prowess, which has managed to produce 30 times already this season, sending the Toon way out in front based on goals scored - with Dwight Gayle already notching 11 times. If the service can yet again be provided by the likes of the in-form Shelvey and Ritchie, then scoring should be no problem, but Preston have only conceded 3 times in their last 5 home matches.

From 36 competitive games vs the opposition, Newcastle have won 22, having lost 9 and drawn 7, suggesting that history does appear to be on our side. However, as most know, in the modern game, anything can happen. A very competitive match should be expected, with neither side wanting to drop any points; it has the potential to be a cracker.

My prediction for the game is a 2-0 victory for our boys in black and white, picking up exactly where we left off against Ipswich last weekend, continuing this fine run of form, which will hopefully and eventually sees us return to the top flight next season.

Predicted Starting XI (4-4-1-1): Darlow, Yedlin, Clark, Lascelles, Dummett, Ritchie, Hayden, Shelvey, Atsu, Perez, Mitrovic

Predicted Result: Preston 0-2 Newcastle