Preston North End set for bumper crowd as Blackburn Rovers allocation revealed

Preston North End could be set for a big attendance when Blackburn Rovers come to Deepdale next month.

The Lancashire Derby is the fixture that Lilywhites fans look for when the schedule comes out and the second meeting of the season between the two isn't too far away. North End face Rovers on Saturday, February 17 at 3.00 pm with the game not chosen for broadcast by Sky Sports.

With the match being played at the traditional kick-off time for an English Football League match, there is a good chance that this could sell out. There are more transport options available for supporters and weekends tend to be when most football fans are not working.

The Bill Shankly Kop which houses away supporters could be filled by just under 6,000 Blackburn fans. Rovers have received the 'full' allocation of 5,656 tickets for the match according to their official club website. Tickets have been priced at £30 for adults, £22 for Seniors and 19-24 year-olds as well as £11 for 11-18 year-olds and £5 for Under-11's.

Preston North End have an average home attendance of 16,475 which currently puts them 19th in the Championship, above Blackburn in 23rd. The biggest crowd that Deepdale has seen this season was when they played Leeds United on Boxing Day with 21,816 fans in attendance.

EFL rules on away allocations is that there must be at least 10% of the capacity and that would be 2,340, but given the importance of the fixture, Blackburn have been afforded more than double of that, and it should make for a great atmosphere between the two clubs.

In the corresponding fixture, Preston North End won 2-1 in November courtesy of a late winner from Liam Lindsay after Sammie Szmodics had cancelled out Alan Browne's opener. Blackburn gave North End an allocation of just under 6,000 tickets with 5,789 situated in the Brian Douglas Darwen End.