Championship | Gameweek 23

Dec 26, 2024 at 3pm UK

Deepdale

Prestonvs.Hull City

Match preview

Preston North End are back at Deepdale on Thursday, and they're keen to get back to winning ways and move up the Championship table. They had an unbeaten run before Christmas, but that's now over.

Paul Heckingbottom's team are currently 18th in England's second tier, with 23 points from their first 22 games. They've had the joint-fewest wins in the division though, with only four.

They had a six-game unbeaten run between mid-November and mid-December, but only won one of those, beating Cardiff City 2-0 after draws with Derby County, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield Wednesday.

Then, in injury time against second-placed Leeds United, the Lilywhites conceded an own goal from Jack Whatmough, meaning they had to settle for a 1-1 draw. On Saturday, they were unable to extend their unbeaten run further when they travelled to Queens Park Rangers and succumbed to a 2-1 defeat, despite leading at the interval through Milutin Osmajic, with Jimmy Dunne netting the decisive goal in the 89th minute.

Preston North End will be disappointed to have dropped points late in consecutive games, but they will be keen to bounce back and move closer to the middle of the table with a fifth league victory of the campaign on Boxing Day.

Their visitors, meanwhile, are making the trip to Deepdale with the aim of making it back-to-back league wins after moving out of the relegation zone last time.

Hull City had a rough start to their Championship campaign, but they've turned things around since Ruben Selles took charge in December. They'd only earned 15 points from their first 19 games under Tim Walter and then the temporary leadership of Andy Dawson.

Selles did at least end their six-match losing streak in his first game in charge, with a 1-1 draw against Watford, but then a 2-1 loss to Coventry City. That left them at the foot of the table, having suffered 11 defeats in their first 21 games.

Then on Saturday, they welcomed Swansea City to the MKM Stadium and finally ended their 13-match losing streak in the Championship. They were initially ahead thanks to Joao Pedro, but then they conceded, but Mason Burstow scored the winner 10 minutes from time, making it 2-1 to the Tigers.

That win finally saw the Tigers leap out of the Championship's bottom three, but they're still only leading each side in the drop zone by a single point. They'll be hoping to build a winning run under Selles and move clear of the threat of relegation in the coming weeks.

Recent Form

Preston North End Championship form:DDDWDL

Hull City Championship form:LLLDLW

Team News

Preston North End are heading into their Boxing Day match without defender Liam Lindsay, who is suspended after being sent off in their defeat to Queens Park Rangers last time. Andrew Hughes is likely to remain in the treatment room.

With those losses in defence, Patrick Bauer should come in to join Jack Whatmough and Jordan Storey in front of goalkeeper Freddie Woodman.

Ben Whiteman will be hoping to return to the midfield after Stefan Thordarson and Ali McCann were preferred last time out, while Milutin Osmajic will continue to lead the line after netting his fourth league goal of the season in the weekend's defeat.

Ruben Selles might decide to keep the same Hull City starting XI from their last weekend win, with Oscar Zambrano still suspended and Mohamed Belloumi, Kasey Palmer, Liam Millar and Dogukan Sinik all still in the treatment room.

Mason Burstow might get a chance to start the attack after scoring the winner as a sub, and Joao Pedro will lead the line again after scoring his fourth goal of the season against Swansea.

Steven Alzate could continue alongside Regan Slater and Gustavo Puerta in midfield, even though they have some competition from Xavier Simons and Marvin Mehlem. Ryan Giles should get the nod on the left of a back four, after only earning rare starts under Tim Walter.

Possible starting lineup

Preston North End possible starting lineup:

Woodman; Storey, Whatmough, Bauer; Potts, McCann, Thordarson, Kesler-Hayden; Greenwood, Osmajic, Keane

Hull City possible starting lineup:

Pandur; Coyle, Jones, Hughes, Giles; Slater, Alzate, Puerta; Kamara, Pedro, Burstow