Norwich City's 'special player' could return but Preston North End can take Sheffield Wednesday motivation

Preston North End have one of their - if not the - biggest games under manager Ryan Lowe, on Saturday. Sixth placed Norwich City are the opponents at Deepdale, with the Lilywhites five points behind the Canaries - having played one game fewer.

Both PNE’s boss, and midfielder Duane Holmes, very much played up the importance of this weekend’s encounter - after beating Huddersfield Town, 4-1, in midweek. Standing in their way on Saturday is one of the league’s form teams, with David Wagner’s side having picked up 20 points from their last 10 games. North End are not too far behind, with 18 from the last 30 on offer.

And two points were gained on the Norfolk outfit on Tuesday night, as Norwich let a two goal lead slip at Sheffield Wednesday - who came from behind to draw. And both of the Owls’ goals - corners to the back post, converted - will offer PNE a potential area of weakness to try and exploit. The likes of Liam Lindsay, Andrew Hughes and Jordan Storey are all aerial threats.

After the game, Wagner said: “We looked sharp, everything was there in and out of ball possession, but we didn’t kill the game. This is frustrating, you play so well in the first half against a team that wanted to play and press - but we found the solutions. If you don’t use the opportunities, then a set piece can always happen. When a team is so direct with set pieces, something can always happen. This is the story. This is what we have accept.”

One boost Norwich could get for the Deepdale clash, though, is the return of 13-goal forward, Jonathan Rowe. The 20-year-old suffered a hamstring injury in mid-February, but has returned to training of late. Rowe wasn’t involved at Hillsborough, but could be back in contention this weekend. Fellow key man, Gabriel Sara, is excited to have Rowe on the pitch again.

"It's perfect for us," he said. "Jonny is a really important player and we missed him a lot. You can see that he scores a lot of goals. He's a special player and I think it's good for us, for the competition. Everyone wants to play, and it's good for us to have one more guy to help.”