Preston North End seek to improve their away form as they prepare to face Championship leaders Bournemouth

They have gathered only three points from their seven away games, those being draws at Bristol City, Sheffield United and Birmingham.

It is at Deepdale where they have been stronger, with four wins, three draws and just the one defeat – that back on the first day of the campaign.

That is in total contrast to last season when fortunes were reversed.

At the 15-game mark in 2020/21, North End had won five, drawn one and lost two away.

At Deepdale they lost six and won just once over that spread of matches.

PNE head coach Frankie McAvoy said: “Last season we were excellent away from home, whether that was the impact of Covid and fans not being there, I don’t know.

“The fact is this season we have only picked up three points away from home which is not good enough.

“We need to be better and we’ve got two away games coming up this week.

“At home, apart from the first day of the season, we have won four and drawn three.

“That’s in the past, we have to deal with the here and now.

“On Wednesday we go to Bournemouth who are flying high and that is where our focus is trained on.”

The visit to the Vitality Stadium is the trickiest PNE could have asked for in a bid to be better on their travels.

Bournemouth are top of the table and unbeaten in the Championship this season, the 37 points they have being the best accumulation of points ever in the division at this stage of the season.

They are under the stewardship of Scott Parker who took charge in the summer after leaving Fulham.

His job is take them back to the Premier League after they fell at the semi-final stage of the play-offs in May under Jonathan Woodgate.

Among the Cherries ranks is Ben Pearson, the midfielder having joined them from PNE at the end of January.

In recent games he has had to be content with a place on the bench, although in the 2-0 win at Reading on Saturday night, Pearson played all of the second half.

After the Bournemouth game, it’s a quick turnaround for PNE as they prepare to play Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Saturday.

Forest’s results have taken a turn for the better since the dismissal of Chris Hughton and appointment of former Swansea boss Steve Cooper.

Thanks for reading. If you value what we do and are able to support us, a digital subscription is just £1 month for the first two months. Try us today by clicking here