Preston North End's Barcelona Call-Off Explained

Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom has explained the cancellation of their pre-season friendly against Barcelona. The match was due to take place behind closed doors earlier this week, but was called off amid reports that the Lilywhites didn't have a sufficient number of players available.

Speaking on Thursday, Heckingbottom outlined why the decision to cancel the match was taken. He said: "We didn't have the players to play them. We were going to play the fixture but then they were going to play a young team against our young team. Then I think they decided - because they played on the Friday night, we played on a Saturday, plus we'd had to move the fixture so they could catch a flight - it just became one of those where they thought 'it's probably not in our best interests, we'll have a training session instead.'"

What Comes Next for Preston North End?

Preston North End are set to start the new season with their Carabao Cup tie against Huddersfield Town on Saturday. This comes 14 weeks after last season ended in a home defeat to Southampton, with Heckingbottom glad of a break from the footballing treadmill before returning to pre-season training earlier this summer.

League Standing and Goals Scored

Preston North End finished the 2025 season in 14th place in the Championship, with 60 points from 46 games. They have scored 55 goals and conceded 62 so far this season, with a goal difference of -7. They are currently 35 points behind leaders Coventry.

Next Fixture

Preston North End's next fixture is against Birmingham at home on 16th February 2027, where they will be looking to bounce back from their recent defeat. The team will be hoping to get back to winning ways and climb the table.

Image Prompt

A photorealistic image of Preston North End's manager, Paul Heckingbottom, standing in the dugout at Deepdale, looking focused and determined, with a floodlight rim light casting a warm glow on his face. He is wearing a Preston North End kit with a clean, smooth fabric, and his eyes are sharp and focused on the action on the pitch. The image is shot with a 50mm f/1.4 lens, with a shallow depth of field and a slight blur on the background to emphasize the subject.