Preview: Barrow vs Preston North End - prediction, team news, lineups

Barrow will hope to claim their place in the second round of the EFL Cup when they welcome Preston North End to SO Legal Stadium on Tuesday.

The home side were beaten 2-0 by MK Dons in their second game of the 2025-26 League Two season, whereas the visitors were held to a 1-1 draw by Queens Park Rangers in their opening match of the new Championship campaign.

Match preview

Though Barrow held out against MK Dons until the 73rd minute, they can have no complaints with the loss considering they failed to register a single attempt on target, and all three of their shots from inside the box were from set pieces.

Head coach Andy Whing's side have lost both of their opening games of the new season, conceding three times while failing to find the back of the net.

The club's defensive performances this term contrast with their showings in the final stages of the previous campaign given they kept five clean sheets in their last six fixtures of 2024-25.

In the prior edition of the EFL Cup, the Bluebirds were able to beat Championship side Derby County on penalties in the second round before ultimately losing 5-0 against Chelsea in the third.

The club's defeat at the hands of MK Dons was the third consecutive time that they have failed to win at home - drawing twice - but they did triumph in four of their final nine outings at SO Legal Stadium, settling for stalemates a further three times.

The away side rallied in the second half against QPR to earn a point, scoring the equaliser shortly after the interval while limiting their opponents to just one shot inside the box.

Preston have only played once this term, but their winless streak was extended to 10 competitive matches, a period that encompasses six defeats.

Boss Paul Heckingbottom's team have not kept an opposition side at bay in their past 13 domestic outings, and unless results improve, the Englishman could soon find himself under pressure.

The Lilywhites scored 48 league goals in 2024-25, a record that made them the division's joint fourth-worst offensive club, though they have netted at least once in each of their eight most recent competitive fixtures.

Preston have been subpar on their travels, losing five and drawing three of their past eight games.

Barrow form (all competitions):

Preston North End form (all competitions):

Team News

Barrow utilised a 3-4-3 system against MK Dons, and if they do so on Tuesday, goalkeeper Benjamin Winterbottom could come into the XI alongside central defenders Mazeed Ogungbo, Niall Canavan and Charlie Raglan.

Whing will hope that midfielders Jack Earing and Regan Booty can provide a stable defensive platform from which forwards Isaac Fletcher, Tom Barkhuizen and Innes Cameron can excel.

Meanwhile, Preston could select centre-backs Jordan Storey, Liam Lindsay and Lewis Gibson in a three-man defence.

Midfielders Stefan Teitur Thordarson, Ben Whiteman and Alistair McCann are candidates to feature on Tuesday.

With attackers Will Keane and Robbie Brady injured, fans can expect to see a front two consisting of Milutin Osmajic and Daniel Jebbison.

Barrow possible starting lineup:

Winterbottom; Canavan, Raglan, Ogungbo; Jackson, Earing, Booty, Newby; Fletcher, Barkhuizen; Cameron

Preston North End possible starting lineup:

Iversen; Storey, Lindsay, Gibson; Small, McCann, Whiteman, Thordarson, Vukcevic; Osmajic, Jebbison