Graham Alexander has two midfield selection headaches... Preston North End predicted starting XI vs Stoke

Preston North End are back in action against another promotion-chasing side in Stoke City on Saturday, but how will Graham Alexander line-up his team?

For the first time in ages, Preston actually go into a match with a big sense of genuine optimism after such a rousing performance in their draw with West Brom last week, which really could have been a victory.

Alexander will need his players to replicate that effort and aggression against Stoke, a team who have won four of their last six but have slipped down to 9th after picking up just four points in their last three.

Alexander says he's coming up against a 'superb' manager in Mark Robbins, with 'really good players,' but sees no reason why his team can't take the game to them like they did last weekend.

The boss welcomes Jordan Thompson back to the fold after suspension and Caleb Wiley is in contention to return to the pitch after training all week, but it'll be interesting to see if he makes changes to a team that played so well last time out. Especially as Alfie Devine is fit after struggling with a calf problem last week.

Meanwhile, Lewis Gibson is out for possibly more than a month with a groin injury, while Liam Lindsay is a doubt having not trained since going off injured at Wrexham.

With all that in mind, here's how Alexander's starting XI could look at the Bet 365, almost certainly to be in the 3-4-1-2 formation...