Match preview - Preston v Owls

20 November 2020

We resume our Championship campaign this weekend with a trip to Preston.

It’s been all change at Hillsborough over the last week with new manager Tony Pulis coming into the club.

Pulis has had his first full week on the training ground in preparation for the trip to Deepdale on Saturday.

Prior to the international break, Wednesday moved off the foot of the Championship table with the 0-0 draw against Millwall.

A win this weekend could see the Owls move out of the bottom three for the first time this season.

Preston, meanwhile, have lost three of their last four outings in the Championship, though have not tasted defeat on home soil against Wednesday since December 2011.

Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game;

MATCH DETAILS

- Date: Saturday 21 November
- Kick-off, 3.00pm
- Championship
- Deepdale

OFFICIALS

Referee - David Webb
Assistant Referee 1 - Jonathan Hunt
Assistant Referee 2 - Craig Taylor
Fourth Official - Jeremy Simpson

WATCH LIVE

Live coverage of the match will be provided by iFollow with match passes available for £10, which includes multi-angle, replays and match commentary in association with BBC Radio Sheffield.

CLICK HERE to purchase your pass.

TEAM NEWS

SWFC: Tony Pulis has assessed the squad over his first full week and says there are injuries in the camp which will be monitored.

Massimo Luongo was making good progress with his knee injury prior to the international break and could come back into contention on Saturday.

Kadeem Harris remains suspended while Aden Flint (hamstring) is a longer term absentee.

Preston: Ben Davies, Andrew Hughes and Patrick Bauer were all missing before the break and will be given as long as possible to prove their fitness.

Defensive midfielder Ben Pearson (groin) will be hoping to be play a part after being sidelined since mid-October.

Alan Browne tested positive for COVID-19 while on international duty with Republic of Ireland and will miss this fixture.

PLAYED FOR BOTH

Adam Reach enjoyed a season-long loan spell with Preston during the 2015/16 season, where he made 36 starts in all competition.

LAST MEETING – 8 July 2020 | Owls 1-3 Preston

LAST FIVE v Preston

Owls 1-3 Preston - 8 July 2020 – Championship
Preston 2-1 Owls – 24 August 2019 – Championship
Preston 3-3 Owls– 27 April 2019 – Championship
Owls 1-0 Preston – 22 December 2018 – Championship
Owls 4-1 Preston – 30 March 2018 – Championship

Match Reports

Report: Preston 1-0 Wednesday

21 November 2020

Ten-man Wednesday put up a spirited fight at Deepdale but succumbed to a Tom Barkhuizen goal as Preston ruined Tony Pulis’ first game in charge.

It was an uphill battle for the Owls once Josh Windass was dismissed early on for a high challenge on Joe Rafferty.

We managed to reach half time with the clean sheet intact but Barkhuizen settled matters just after the resumption.

Former Lilywhites loanee Adam Reach saw the first chance of the game fall his way seven minutes in. Barry Bannan’s curling corner flew to the back post, where Reach sent a half volley over the crossbar.

Preston started to find their feet, though, and after seeking a grip on the game were given a big advantage on 17 minutes when Windass received his marching orders.

A bouncing ball was there to be won but Windass’ foot was high. Rafferty tumbled to the turf and the referee issued a straight red card.

That gave Preston the platform on which to build and they did go on to see more of the ball in the first half.

But Keiren Westwood – making his first start in almost a year – was untroubled between the Wednesday sticks.

That might have changed 10 minutes before the break when Scott Sinclair went tumbling beneath a Liam Palmer challenge in the box but the penalty appeals were waved away.

But five minutes into the second period, Preston did hit the front. An enterprising start led to a deep cross that Barkhuizen volleyed into the bottom corner from Westwood’s punch.

The Owls were on the ropes and the hosts went for the kill but to their credit, Wednesday stood tall and might have levelled when Moses Odubajo dragged a half chance wide.

That proved the exception rather than the rule of a second half that Preston essentially dominated.

It was close to being 2-0 with eight minutes to go when Daniel Johnson’s shot whistled inches past the post but it mattered not as the hosts’ home hoodoo this campaign was laid to rest.

Wednesday: Westwood, Palmer, Lees, Börner, van Aken, Odubajo (Rhodes 74), Luongo (Pelupessy 65), Bannan, Paterson (Brown 80), Reach, Windass (S/O 17)