Dave Seddon gave the lowdown on Preston North End
- Expert’s view on Preston North End
- Details what he expects from the Lilywhites
- Watch the full feature on #HTTV
Preston North End Correspondent Dave Seddon gave his thoughts on the Lilywhites ahead of Huddersfield Town’s Sky Bet Championship game this weekend!
Excelling away from home
If you look at the Championship table and results, you’ll see that North End have been beaten 1-0 in all their three home games, but away they’ve picked up seven points, two wins and a 2-2 draw with Norwich. They’re a better away side at the moment than at home. Wednesday’s win at QPR underlined that really; it was a big boost for them. With Preston’s away form at the moment, they have a little bit of confidence about them.
A counter-attack outfit
Since they came up to the Championship in 2015, there’s probably only been two seasons where their home form has been better than their away form. They are generally quite a strong away side. The strength under Simon Grayson, their previous manager, was counter attacking. Alex Neil inherited that three years ago and has carried it on. They’re finding a bit more freedom away from home. North End play a good pressing game and it’s suited them playing away.
Style of play
North End are a good counter-attacking team, so they will hunt and press the ball, especially when teams like to play out from the back. They will try and force their opponents long and mop up the second ball. They like to work the ball wide. Ryan Ledson in the middle of midfield is coming into his own this season too next to Ben Pearson. Pearson, we think, though, will be out with an injury.
Potential weaknesses
They have conceded a few goals this season; Wednesday night was their first clean sheet. They have a little bit of a vulnerability at the back. The full-backs don’t push on, they’re happier staying further back.
Aims for the season
When they started the season, they had to be aiming for the top six. They’ve proved that they can be up there, and they can put a run together at times. They haven’t had a fighting battle against relegation for three or four years, it’s always been looking up at the top end of the league, but they’ve never quite found what they need to click to consistently be in the top six. They’ve been near the play-offs but need to find away to make more of a consistent challenge.
