Preston North End vs Bristol City likely line-ups, key men, the referee, odds and all you need to know ahead of Championship clash

From likely line-ups to key men and the referee, all you need to know about the game can be found below.

Likely line-ups

PNE: Rudd, Clarke, Storey, Davies, Hughes, Ledson, Barkhuizen, Browne, Potts, Gallagher, Maguire.

Bristol City: Maenpaa, Wright, Kalas, Webster, Dasilva, Pack, Weimann, Brownhill, Palmer, O'Dowda, Diedhiou

Key men

Sean Maguire: The Irishman is getting sharper all the time, summed up by his one-touch finish in the win at Millwall last time out. It capped a performance where Maguire darted around like only he can. Two goals for the season and surely more to come.

Josh Brownhill: A player who needs no introduction to PNE fans, the former Lilywhite was reportedly interesting Premier League clubs in January as he continues to kick on at Ashton Gate. Midfielder has four goals so far this season.

In the visiting dugout

Lee Johnson: The Bristol City boss is two days older than his North End counterpart Alex Neil. Johnson celebrated his third year in post at Ashton Gate earlier in the month, having been recruited from Barnsley in February 2016. He had spent a year in charge at Oakwell, having started out in management with Oldham at the age of 31. In his playing career, the bulk of Johnson’s appearances came as a midfielder with Yeovil Town and Bristol City. He also had spells in Scotland playing for Hearts and Kilmarnock.

The referee

Jeremy Simpson: The Carnforth referee will be in the middle for Preston North End’s clash with Bristol City at Deepdale. This is the second PNE game refereed by Mr Simpson this season, with him officiating the 1-1 draw against Rotherham in October. He has twice taken charge of Bristol City this term – their 4-2 defeat to West Bromwich and a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest. This will be his 32nd game of the season, he has shown 123 yellow cards and five reds.

Odds

Preston: 23/20

Draw: 11/5

Bristol City: 13/5

This week in PNE history

59 years ago: Preston beat Blackburn 5-3 at Deepdale on March 1, 1960, in front of a crowd of 26,781. Tommy Thompson scored twice, with Les Dagger, Davie Sneddon and Jim Smith on target.

41 years ago: On February 28, 1978, Alex Bruce scored all four goals as North End won 4-0 against Colchester United at Deepdale. Two of the striker’s goals came from the penalty spot.

38 years ago: Preston beat Chelsea 1-0 at Deepdale on February 28, 1981. Alex Bruce came off the bench to score the winner.

30 years ago: North End made the long midweek trip to Gillingham on February 28, 1989, and returned from Kent with a 3-1 win. Tony Ellis netted twice and Mark Patterson scored from the spot.