Tony Pulis's first game in charge of new club Sheffield Wednesday will take place away to Preston North End, as he looks to turn things around for the Owls.
The hosts currently sit in 14th place in the table having lost away to Rotherham United 2-1 last time out, while the visitors are in 23rd after their 0-0 draw with Millwall.
Match preview
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Preston went into their fixture with Rotherham buoyed by their handsome win at leaders Reading, and with the best away record in the Championship with 13 points from 15 - as well as the worst home record - with all of their points coming on the road.
Unfortunately for Alex Neil and his team, Matt Crooks's late winner fired Rotherham to victory to end their unbeaten away record after a dramatic finale.
As they will know, they cannot rely on such sporadic form and will need to start picking up points at home. Easier said than done though, as they have not kept a clean sheet at Deepdale for six games, and have kept only one clean sheet in their last 20 home games.
That said, the Lilywhites will feel they have a chance of shutting out Wednesday, who are the second-lowest scorers in the league, with only six goals so far this campaign.
Preston underwent a stern test during the break, as they hosted Burnley in a training ground friendly that finished 2-2, with goalkeeper Connor Ripley opening the scoring with a wind-assisted clearance.
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Wednesday went into the international break with one manager, and will come out of it with another after Garry Monk was dismissed just days after their goalless draw with Millwall.
The Owls have managed just seven Championship wins under Monk since the start of 2020, and will hope that seasoned pro Tony Pulis can offer a better return.
Pulis faces a tough test as Wednesday come into this fixture with only one win in their last six, but he will take heart from Preston's poor home form and will look to extend the Lilywhites' fruitless home record.
This week has seen the Owls join Barnsley in the race to sign Mario Balotelli, which would be some signal of intent from Pulis, but it is understood that Balotelli's hunger to play in the Championship has cooled in recent days.
Mario or no Mario, Pulis will need to find a way to get his side scoring again, with Derby County the only side to have scored fewer this campaign.
Preston North End Championship form: WWLLWL
Sheffield Wednesday Championship form: LLLLWD
Team News
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Alan Browne will be unavailable this weekend due to testing positive for COVID-19 while away with the Republic of Ireland.
Browne adds to the number of injuries that the Lilywhites were nursing before the break and so Alex Neil will hope to get some bodies back into the fold.
Patrick Bauer, Andrew Hughes, Ben Pearson, and Ben Davies all missed the last match while Darnell Fisher went off injured. It remains to be seen who will be declared fit ahead of Wednesday's visit.
From Wednesday's perspective, Pulis has been forced to call up a number of youngsters to train with their injury-torn first team.
Pulis refused to name names when asked about the injuries in his squad this week, though there was speculation that defenders Dominic Iorfa, Joost van Aken and striker Jack Marriott will remain unavailable.
Long-term absentees include Chey Dunkley (leg) and Aden Flint (hamstring), with no clear return dates.
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Rudd; Fisher, Huntington, Storey, Rafferty; Johnson, Ledson; Sinclair, Harrop, Potts; Jakobsen
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Wildsmith; Palmer, Iorfa, Borner; Odubajo, Bannan, Pelupessy, Reach; Brown; Windass, Kachunga
We say: Preston North End 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday
We expect Pulis's men to arrive at Deepdale determined to get a result, and with Preston's lacklustre home form in mind, they could well get their wish. The match could end up being a scrappy affair with both sides struggling with injuries, meaning both teams might have to settle for a point apiece.
Top betting tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Sheffield Wednesday win with a probability of 40.2%. A win for Preston North End had a probability of 32.27% and a draw had a probability of 27.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sheffield Wednesday win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.61%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.34%) and 0-2 (7.45%). The likeliest Preston North End win was 1-0 (10.13%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.99%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 10.1% likelihood.
