Preston North End face a critical Championship trip to Birmingham City on Tuesday with a lengthy injury list hampering their bid to escape the relegation zone. Graham Alexander’s side, sitting 24th with just four points from nine games, have taken only one point from their last four league outings.
A back three of Odeluga Offiah, Jordan Storey and Andrew Hughes is expected to start at St Andrew’s. Jordan Thompson and Alfie Devine are set to link the midfield, with Callum Lang and Jusuf Erabi leading the attack. Key absentees include Alistair McCann, who is out long-term with a hamstring tear, Lewis Gibson, Harry Clarke and Caleb Wiley.
Birmingham manager Chris Davies has few selection headaches, though midfielder Seung-ho Paik remains out. “Davies has few injury concerns, though South Korean midfielder Seung-ho Paik remains sidelined with a muscular problem,” he said. The Blues, seventh in the table, are unbeaten at home this season and have won the last three meetings between the sides.
Preston’s recent form makes this a daunting task. They have failed to win in four away matches this season, conceding seven goals on the road. Their last result was a 1-0 home defeat to Millwall, leaving them 16 points adrift of the league leaders.
A victory for Birmingham would strengthen their play-off push, while even a draw would slightly trim the gap between Preston and the teams above them. Preston’s next chance to climb the table comes on Tuesday night at St Andrew’s, with kick-off at 20:00. Check the full schedule on our fixtures page.
Further reading: onefootball.com
