Preston North End face Sheffield United at Deepdale on Tuesday night in desperate need of a victory.
After just 5 points from their opening 13 games, Preston will match the record set by Rotherham in 2004-05 for the fewest points earned after 14 matches in a Championship campaign if they lose to the Blades.
Graham Alexander’s side slumped to a tepid 2-0 defeat at Stoke City on Saturday, but will return to Deepdale knowing they put in a full-blooded performance which earned a rousing reception from The Gentry in their last home game against West Brom.
North end will need to replicate that energy and commitment under the lights against Chris Wilder’s outfit, who have seven points from their last three outings alone and sit 10th in the table, if they are to get a positive result.
There didn’t appear to be any fresh injury concerns for Alexander coming out of Stoke, with Harry Clarke, Lewis Gibson, Liam Gibbs and Ali McCann the only absentees at present.
The manager has plenty of selection dilemmas, starting with which formation he goes for. Alexander unexpectedly switched to a 4-2-3-1 at Stoke, which came as a surprise given the back-three had started to click against WBA.
It wouldn’t be surprising if the 3-4-1-2 returned against Sheffield United, with a couple of changes to personnel as well...
1. GK - Daniel Iversen
The score would have been a lot worse at Stoke if it wasn't for a lot of fantastic saves from Iversen. He's bound to keep his place. | World Copyright © 2026 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (
2. RCB - Odel Offiah
Offiah was Preston's brightest outfielder at the Bet 365 Stadium, despite playing in his third role under Alexander. Tuesday could see him return to the right of the back three. | World Copyright © 2026 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (
3. CB - Jordan Storey
It was a tough day at the office for Storey at Stoke, but with Liam Lindsay still feeling his way back to fitness and Gibson out of action, he will likely keep his place. The centre-back has made a lot of crucial interventions in recent games and hopefully won't be rocked by a few mishaps on Saturday. | World Copyright © 2026 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (
4. LCB - Andrew Hughes
Hughes also had a difficult game on Saturday against pacey operators, but he was superb against West Brom and hopefully that level will return back on home soil. | World Copyright © 2026 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (