Preston North End are back at Deepdale again for their second home game in five days as they host early season favourites Championship at Deepdale.
The Lilywhites drew 1-1 with Millwall in the early Saturday kick-off in front of the Sky Sports television cameras. Mads Frokjaer-Jensen gave Ryan Lowe's men a dream start but Zian Flemming pulled a goal back before the half-time whistle. Neither side could find that allusive second goal and Preston had to settle for a point. North End's form has dropped since the last international break and given they had a perfect home record before West Brom's 4-0 thrashing then there's a desire to get back to winning ways in front of their supporters.
Wednesday’s opponents Southampton pose a tough test however and won 2-1 against Hull City at the weekend. Newcastle United loanee Ryan Fraser scored in the fifth minute of added time to give the Saints victory which pushed them up into fifth and only a point off of Preston North End. Preston don't pose the best record against Southampton and have lost their last three meetings with them, however they did take place in 2008, 2009 and 2011, so it's a good 12-years since the two sides met.
Both managers have short-term and long-term injuries to contend with, including a reported £10m striker that was bought on deadline day and has yet to appear for his new club.
Here’s the latest injury and team news from the Preston North End and Southampton camps. Flick through to see who’s not in contention to play with a brief explanation as to why you won’t see them feature.
1. Andrew Hughes - out
He was described as ‘touch and go’ for the weekend with a calf issue. Hughes could have a better chance of playing on Wednesday then he did on Saturday. Photo: CameraSport - Andrew Kearns
2. Ryan Manning - out
He’s accumalated five-yellow cards before the 19-game cut off and as a result he’s got to serve a one game suspension. Photo: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
3. Ryan Manning - out (continued)
“We have lost him, it’s his fifth booking,” said Russell Martin to the Daily Echo. They are good enough to deal with it. “I think he (Manning) has grown into the role, like so many others have done. The players who haven’t been playing need to be ready to contribute.” It has been suggested that Kyle Walker-Peters could play there. Photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images)
4. Ali McCann - out
McCann has a calf issue, and didn’t feature against Ipswich Town before the international break. He’s going to be a ‘little bit’ according to Lowe. Photo: CameraSport - Dave Howarth