Preston North End’s Andrew Hughes looks forward to facing an old pal against Hull City on Saturday

North End defender Andrew Hughes is looking forward to coming up against one of his old team-mates at the weekend.
Marcus Maddison is a former team-mate of Andrew Hughes (above)Marcus Maddison is a former team-mate of Andrew Hughes (above)
Marcus Maddison is a former team-mate of Andrew Hughes (above)

PNE host Hull City in the Championship and the Tigers have recently bolstered their ranks with a loan move for Peterborough United midfielder Marcus Maddison.

Hughes and Maddison played together for the Posh and the latter had made no secret of his desire to leave the Weston Homes Stadium in the past, looking to test himself at a higher level.

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Although there was interest, no bidders met United’s asking price until the Tigers made their loan move.

Hughes played with Maddison at League One level before making the step up himself, and he is intrigued by 
the prospect of seeing his former team-mate in the second tier. “I know Marcus well,” he told the Lancashire Post.

“He has been linked with a move and it’ll be interesting to see how he does this season – assists, goals…he’s always had a good record.

“So it’ll be interesting to see him stepping up to the Championship.

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“He’s really good, his stats don’t lie, if you give him time and space on the ball he can hurt anyone.

“We’ll probably have a bit less research on them but myself, I know Marcus and I know how he plays.”

North End will be looking to avenge a defeat at the KCOM Stadium earlier in the season.

The 4-0 reverse at Hull in November was in amongst Preston’s worst run of the season as they lost four games on the spin.

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On the night the Lilyhwites were low on numbers, with Ryan Ledson needed to play at right-back, and then at left-back in the second half, with Joe Rafferty moving across to the other side. Jarrod Bowen and Kamil Grosicki were top performers on the night, Bowen bagging a pair and Grosicki also getting on the scoresheet.

But neither are still with the Tigers. Bowen went to West Ham in January in a deal reported to be worth more than £20m, whilst Grosicki moved to West Bromwich Albion.

North End will have a choice of full-backs this time around with only Darnell Fisher being a doubt, although he will likely be fit to start.

Reinforcements for Hull have come in the way of Maddison and Malik Wilks, who has joined from Barnsley.

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Hughes said: “We know Hull are going to be a good team and we know we’ve got to be on our job to get it done.

“They’ve lost two of their key players in Bowen and 
Grosicki, their wingers.

“So I don’t think they’re as strong as last time and 
hopefully we can benefit from that.”