Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom has some tough calls for Saturday’s team at QPR.
That is even with the injury blow suffered by the Lilywhites. As confirmed in his pre-match press conference on Thursday, midfielder Jordan Thompson has been joined on the sidelines by Robbie Brady. Brad Potts and Will Keane could also miss out.
Both Brady and Potts would’ve been strong shouts to start at Loftus Road. While there have been rumours around an exit for Keane this summer, the front man could well have played a part in the capital - reports have suggested he and Potts are injured.
So, options likely reduced for Heckingbottom but still some dilemmas. One of those is who operates the flank, with it likely to be two of Pol Valentin, Andrija Vukcevic and Thierry Small - the latter of whom can play on either side.
Jordan Storey and Liam Lindsay could be the ones to miss out in the heart of defence, but that is by no means a guarantee. It will be interesting to see whether Heckingbottom opts for two up top, or one.
If it’s the latter, all four of captain Ben Whiteman, Ali McCann, Mads Frokjaer and Stefan Thordarson could get the nod away from home. We saw the PNE boss deploy a box midfield at times last season and enjoy some success with it.
Either way, Milutin Osmajic looks a good bet to start the match. Summer signings Michael Smith and Daniel Jebbison will be pushing to partner the Montenegrin in attack; both players bring very different attributes to the team.
Here is our predicted PNE XI to start against Julien Stephan’s side...
