Preston North End backed to 'get their act together' ahead of key Derby County clash

The Lilywhites' play-off hopes took a blow last weekend with a disappointing 3-1 loss to Cardiff City, and another loss tonight could prove highly costly in the race for promotion.

Writing for Sky Sports, David Prutton has tipped Alex Neil's side to deny their in-form opponents the win, opting for a 1-1 draw.

Justifying his pick, the former Leeds United man claimed: "That was a poor result for Preston against a play-off rival on Saturday. It’s four defeats and a draw in five games either side of the restart now.

"Derby, meanwhile, are flying. Four wins on the spin and suddenly they look a real contender for the play-offs. I do, however, think that Preston will get their act together a little and get a draw here."

When the two sides last met back in November, Martyn Waghorn grabbed the only goal in a narrow 1-0 victory for the Rams.

Historically, Preston have a dismal record against this evening's opponents, having failed to win in any of their last 14 meetings in all competitions, in a record stretching back to 2008.

Ahead of the game, Neil addressed his side dropping out of the top six, and claimed: “If you gave me the option I’d rather be the team in there being chased, rather than the ones doing the chasing. We need someone above us to drop points as well as us picking up results.”