Derby County Vs Preston North End
FA Cup 4th Round Saturday 25th January 2008
Preston's reward for beating Scunthorpe at home in front of a sparsely populated Deepdale was a trip to either Sheffield Wednesday or Derby County. Penalties sealed the fate of these two clubs and it was a trip to Pride Park that Preston had to look forward to. It will be a tie where the two teams share a couple of things in common. Both of course have had Billy Davies in the hot seat in recent years and are struggling at the wrong end of their respective league tables and. However this is the FA Cup and league form goes straight out of the window. Despite good results away at both Burnley and Southampton, Preston have struggled on the road this season but will be looking to book their place in the 5th round by putting in a good shift at Pride Park. Derby on the other hand have only won once at home all season, which dates back to September when the beat Newcastle by one goal to nil.
Team News
Alan Irvine has a near full squad to choose from with Preston's only notable absentees are full back Billy Jones, who is still recovering from a hernia operation, and 'keeper Wayne Henderson. Derby, on the other hand, will be without Craig Fagan who has a one match suspension, Jay McEveley and Preston old boy, Tyrone Mears who have knee and shin problems respectively. New signings Robbie Savage, Tito Villa, Laurent Robert and Hossam Ghaly are all available for selection. Danny Mills is a doubt with knee trouble and Mile Sterjovski will have to wait for international clearance before he can pull on a Derby shirt.
Previous Meetings
The last time these two teams met it was Billy Davies' first and currently only visit to Deepdale after his 2006 summer departure, where the game ended in a 2-1 win for the visitors. Two goals from striker Steve Howard gave the visitors a 2-0 lead after 51 minutes after being awarded a controversial penalty. This left Preston chasing the game for much of the second half. A David Nugent goal gave the home side a life line and lifted the spirits of the Preston faithful, but proved to be not enough on New Year's Day 2007. Preston's last visit to Pride Park ended in a 1-1 draw back in September 2006 where thousands of North End fans travelled to Derby to let their feelings known to Billy Davies' about his departure. A late second half goal from Steve Howard was cancelled out by Danny Pugh to give the teams a share of the points.
The 1978/79 season was the last time these two sides met in the FA Cup. The Third round FA Cup tie at Deepdale saw second division Preston hammer top flight Derby 3-0. Preston fans will be hoping of a similar occurrence.