Preston North End play their first pre-season friendly on Saturday with a trip to Northern Premier League side Bamber Bridge.
The Lilywhites finished 13th in the Championship last season, while Bamber Bridge have not played a competitive game since December 2020 owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
Match preview
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A strong end to the 2020-21 campaign that saw Preston win their final four games gave the club little choice but to make interim boss Frankie McAvoy their new permanent head coach.
North End were unbeaten in five to see out the campaign, in fact, keeping a clean sheet in four of those matches, though that was only enough for a mid-table finish.
The previous campaign was ultimately a disappointing one for the Lilywhites, but they will go again on August 7 with a home match against Hull City.
Before then, McAvoy's men have five friendlies to play, including a couple of games in Scotland next week against St Johnstone and Celtic.
First up is this trip to neighbours Bamber Bridge, with the connections between the clubs pretty obvious considering the Brig play at the Sir Tom Finney Stadium.
The coronavirus pandemic has caused havoc with English football's lower leagues over the past 18 months, but Bamber Bridge will hope the 2021-22 campaign can be played out in full.
Jamie Milligan's side take on local teams Bolton Wanderers and Blackpool this month, so they are certainly not lacking in high-profile opponents to gear them up for the new season.
All 1,3000 tickets for the Preston game sold out straight away, with each person in attendance having to take a lateral flow test upon entering.
Debutant Jamie Thomas scored in Bamber Bridge's 1-1 draw against Barnoldswick Town in their first pre-season game, following on from a 6-0 win against Rimington FC, so they are slightly ahead of Preston in terms of their preparations.
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Team News
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Preston only returned to pre-season training this week, so expect McAvoy to take it easy in terms of getting his players back to peak match fitness.
New signings Isaiah Brown and Matthew Olosunde are among those in contention to feature on Saturday, as are Patrick Bauer and Declan Rudd after returning from long-term injuries.
Academy scholars Lewis Leigh, Josh Seary and Noah Mawene may also get a chance to impress against lower-league opposition.
As for Bamber Bridge, Thomas will be looking to register in back-to-back games should he be given minutes as expected.
Rolling subs were allowed in the draw with Barnoldswick, giving Milligan a chance to use as many players as possible, and further rotation can be expected here.
Cameron Gourley is another new face aiming to impress in front of Bamber Bridge supporters this weekend.
We say: Bamber Bridge 0-3 Preston North End
Preston have tougher tests to come this summer, not least next week's match with Celtic, but for now they will be looking to build up their fitness against non-league opposition.
Bamber Bridge have already played a couple of games during pre-season, though we cannot see them troubling their neighbours on Saturday, even if Preston field a second-string side.
Daniel Lewis
