Match Preview: Barnsley

Preston North End Vs Barnsley Match Preview

Coca-Cola Championship Tuesday 2^nd February 2009 19:45 KO

After finishing January on a high - the exciting acquisition of Danny Welbeck and two wins on the spin - North End start February with the re-arranged Boxing Day fixture against Barnsley.

It is no secret that a win on Tuesday night will see the Lilywhites move within just 3 points of the playoffs, a feat that just 3 weeks ago looked to be a pipe dream given North End's run of poor form.

Barnsley make the trip to Lancashire on the back of just one win this side of 2010. The Tykes ended a three game winless streak in all competitions by beating Leicester City but were unable to follow the victory up and instead succumbed to a narrow defeat to Reading at the weekend.

Form

Preston North End Home Form: DLDDWW
Barnsley Away Form: LWWDLL

Overall

Preston North End Form: WLLLWW
Barnsley Form: DWLLWL

Previous Meetings

When Barnsley visited Deepdale last season the Lilywhites sealed victory thanks to an unlikely source. Richard Chaplow gave North End a 21^st minute lead only for it to be cancelled out by an excellent individual effort from Jamal Campbell-Ryce just after the half hour mark.

Then, with a draw looking the most likely outcome, Sean St Ledger broke free from the back to lob Heinz Muller in the 88^th minute much to the delight of the Preston fans.

Prior to Tuesday's win over Peterborough, the last time North End won away from home and kept a clean sheet it was against Barnsley back in August. North End ran rampant that evening and emerged as 3-0 winners.

Paul Parry scored his first goal for North End after getting on the end of a superb through ball from Neil Mellor. Scorer then turned provider for North End's second when Mellor and Parry swapped roles; Parry intelligently guided the ball to Mellor using his head leaving the former Liverpool hit-man to emphatically give the Lilywhites a two goal advantage with a right footed volley.

Parkin added a third mid-way through the second period to seal the when the Beast got on the end of a Billy Jones cross at the far post to score a tap-in.

Team News

With Callum Davidson still feeling the effects of the challenge that left him unconscious, Eddie Nolan is set to deputise at left back again. There are currently no new injury concerns for Preston.