Preston North End versus Crystal Palace
Saturday 1st March 2008
Coca Cola Championship
Deepdale, 3pm kick-off

It's another tricky test on Saturday, with Crystal Palace the next in a succession of promotion-chasing sides to stand in our way. Whilst we went into the games with Watford and Stoke thinking it possibly wasn't the best time to be playing them, we head into this weekend's game thinking that maybe it is the right time to play Palace, with the south London side currently on a run of six games without victory. However, we all know that any hint of complacency at this level, and your whole world can come crashing down.

One thing's for sure - Neil Warnock will send out a side that makes life very difficult for us to play, whilst looking to move the ball around the right way themselves, getting it forward quickly to create a bombardment of chances. However, Warnock himself readily admits that he never seems to get any luck at Deepdale, so will he just send out the kids and hope to get it over and done with quickly?

As it happens, the kids have been doing very nicely for the Eagles this season, with midfielder John Bostock having made Palace history when he made his debut against Watford in October at the tender age of 15, while Academy products Victor Moses and Sean Scannell have recently come in and made first team places their own.

Warnock has promised to blood more youngsters before the season's end, but whether any will make their bow at Deepdale remains to be seen. His matchday 16 could contain the likes of Jeff Hughes, Ben Kudjodji, Victor Moses and Ashley-Paul Robinson, given that key figures such as Clint Hill, James Scowcroft and Tom Soares are all suspended. Add to that the injuries to Neil Danns (abdominal strain), Paul Ifill (hamstring strain) and Sean Scannell (thigh strain), who are all doubts, along with Shefki Kuqi who was transfer listed after a gesture to the crowd last weekend, and it could be a very unusual Palace line-up that takes to the Deepdale turf.

We're also waiting to find out whether an hour-long return to action in the reserves in midweek will be enough to convince Alan Irvine whether to bring Neal Trotman and Lewis Neal back into first team contention for PNE, while Matt Hill will need to recover sufficiently from a tight calf before being considered as a like-for-like replacement for the suspended Callum Davidson at left back. Tuesday's two-goal hero Richard Chaplow is hoping to be fit after leaving the field after an hour against Stoke when he started to feel the effects of his tight hamstring once again.

The League Table

North End's league position has been up and down more often than The Vengaboys of late, but Tuesday's win means we're currently on the up, out of the bottom three once again and now able to drag a further four sides right into the relegation mix if we pick up all three points and other results go our way.

Sheffield Wednesday - now in the bottom three at our expense - are two points behind and have two games in hand, but Colchester (five adrift with one game in hand) and Scunthorpe (five adrift, no games in hand) are starting to look a little more distant. Sheffield United, Coventry, Southampton and Leicester - all former Premier League sides - will all be looking over their shoulders if we look set for victory at any time this weekend.

The only thing that's certain in this division, is that nothing's certain.

Ones To Watch

Richard Chaplow



Became a Deepdale terrace hero with his match-winning two-goal effort against Stoke, and will now be hoping that his hamstring is up to the task of completing another influential afternoon of action against Palace.

The unfortunate injury has hampered the start of his PNE career, but there have been signs in the last couple of games that he's finding the form that won him so many plaudits when playing for the folks up the M65.

His constant box to box scurrying and an ability to be in the right place at the right time could prove crucial to Preston's hopes of climbing the Championship table before the season's end, and his experience could be very handy against a youthful Palace side who are likely to be full of running.

Sean Scannell



Like Chaplow, he's an injury doubt, but the North End faithful might find that to be more of a blessing. Since his debut in a 2-1 victory at QPR in early December, the young forward has been earning rave reviews in his eight Championship starts and six substitute appearances, netting twice along the way.

The youngster signed a two-and-a-half-year professional contract around the Festive season, and the man in the number 44 shirt has caught the eye thanks to his explosive pace.

The Croydon-born 17-year-old - who qualifies to represent the Republic of Ireland through his father - this week gained widespread acclaim at the 24th Irish Examiner National Junior Sports Awards, receiving his prize acknowledging him as one of the sport's rising stars from Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson. Previous award winners include Roy Keane, Robbie Keane and Damien Duff - showing the esteem in which this talented kid is held.

Last Time Out

Preston 2 Stoke City 0
PNE: Lonergan, Jones, Mawene, Chilvers, Davidson, Whaley, McKenna (capt), Chaplow (sub Carter 62), Sedgwick, Brown, Hawley (sub Mellor 90).

Crystal Palace 0 Wolves 2
Eagles: Speroni, Butterfield, Lawrence, Hudson, Hill, Soares (sub Ifill 58), Fletcher, Watson, Derry, Hills (sub Morrison 57), Kuqi (sub Scowcroft 69).

Head-To-Head

Though these sides have met regularly in recent years, this fixture hasn't appeared on the schedule all that frequently down the years. The sides only met for the first time in December 1964, when Frank Lee's solitary strike handed North End the two points in the old second division (tier two).

Since then, the all-time record has stretched to ten Preston wins, ten draws, and thirteen triumphs for the Eagles. North End have the upper hand in the FA Cup, with two wins and a draw over the course of three ties between the two (including that famous tie made memorable for David Nugent's 'wonderstrike' twelve months ago), while the Londonders won the only League Cup tie between the two in 1968.

The home side triumphed when these sides met at Selhurst Park in November, with Youl Mawene's header cancelled out by a Clinton Morrison leveller and the game then won when Clint Hill netted in first half stoppage time.

Last Time We Met At Deepdale

Preston North End 0 Crystal Palace 0
Football League Championship
25th November 2006
Attendance: 14,202

Referee - Mr M J Jones

It's a relatively short trip for the Chester-based official, though he hasn't ventured up to these parts so far this season. The only time we've encountered him during the course of the campaign was at The Hawthorns in August, when he booked Darren Carter and Chris Sedgwick in West Brom's 2-0 win.

The last time he was here was for the 4-1 victory over Sunderland in October 2006, so more of the same would be very much welcomed this weekend. The experienced campaigner has been here before for a Preston v Palace game, overseeing the 1-1 draw in the fourth round of the FA Cup back in 2005/06.

This season, he has recorded 103 bookings and five dismissals in 35 games, which is around a par score.

Betting

Preston 13/10, Draw 23/10, Palace 2/1. Click here now to go to North End's official betting portal, pnebetting.co.uk

Listen Live

Join us on Whites World from 2.30pm where Matt Morris and Robert Urbani will provide all the big match build-up, with Jonathan Breeze taking over from 3pm for exclusive full match commentary. Whites World is available now from just £3.99 per month or £19.99 for the remainder of the season, meaning you can follow North End from anywhere on the globe. Don't forget to send your thoughts and opinions on the game to matchday@pne.com.

Don't forget you can buy tickets online at MyPNE.com until 23:59 on Friday night, in person during our usual ticket office opening hours of 9am until kick-off, or by calling 0870 442 1966.