Preston North End v Blackburn Rovers likely line-ups, key men, the referee, odds and all you need to know ahead of Championship clash

Preston North End issue road closure warning to fans ahead of Blackburn Rovers g...

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

Likely line-ups

PNE: Maxwell, Clarke, Huntington, Davies, Earl, Pearson, Gallagher, Barkhuizen, Browne, Robinson, Nmecha

Blackburn: Raya, Nyambe, Lenihan, Mulgrew, Williams, Reed, Smallwood, Bennett, Dack, Armstrong, Graham

Key Men

Paul Gallagher: A Blackburn boy, Gallagher has been unlucky not to start more games for North End of late but should be in the side at Deepdale on Saturday. Experience, control and calmness on the ball could be key given the frantic nature of a Lancashire derby.

Bradley Dack: A standout player in the Championship this season, the attacking midfielder has 10 goals to his name so far as he has made the step up to the second tier with ease. Rovers’ resolve might be tested in January should his fine form continue.

The man in the visiting dugout

Tony Mowbray: The 54-year-old has been in post at Ewood Park since February 2017. He took over from Owen Coyle who had been in charge seven months. Mowbray couldn’t prevent Blackburn being relegated but guided them back to the Championship at the first attempt. Rovers are the sixth club Mowbray has managed, following-on from Hibernian, West Bromwich Albion, Celtic, Middlesbrough and Coventry. As a player, he made more than 400 appearances for Boro, and went on to play for Ipswich and Celtic.The referee

Andrew Madley: The West Yorkshire official will take charge of Preston’s derby clash with Blackburn and he is no stranger to refereeing North End matches down the years. He was in the middle for the play-off final win against Swindon in 2015. This season, Mr Madley refereed PNE’s 2-2 draw with Stoke at Deepdale. Last season, he officiated four Preston matches, including the final-day 2-1 victory over Burton. In his 14 games this season he has shown 33 yellow cards and just the one red.

Odds

PNE 11/10

Draw 5/2

Blackburn 23/10