Preston North End v Millwall likely line-ups, key men, the referee, odds and all you need to know ahead of Championship clash
From likely line-ups to the referee and more, all you need to know about Saturday's game can be found below.
Likely line-ups
PNE (4-2-3-1): Rudd, Clarke, Huntington, Davies, Hughes, Pearson, Gallagher, Nmecha, Browne, Barkhuizen, Moult.
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Hide AdMillwall (4-4-2): Archer, Romeo, Hutchinson, Cooper, Meredith, Wallace, Leonard, Tunnicliffe, O’Brien, Morison, Gregory.
Key men
Paul Gallagher: With the visitors likely to be hard to break down, Gallagher is set to be a key figure on Saturday. His passing range and set piece delivery will be important to unlocking the Lions’ defence. At 34, showing he can still string games together.
Jed Wallace: After a slow start to the season, he has really picked up his form in recent weeks since committing his long-term future to the club. A tricky winger, capable of scoring and assisting, Wallace is one of Millwall’s most dangerous players and contributed to 15 goals in the Championship last season, six goals and nine assists.
In the visiting dugout
Neil Harris: The 44-year-old has been in charge at Millwall since April 2015, having had a stint as caretaker boss. In his first full season in charge, Harris led the Lions to the League One play-off final where they were beaten by Barnsley. But he got them up 12 months later, Millwall beating Bradford in the Wembley final. As a player, Harris made more than 400 appearances for Millwall in two spells. In 2000, North End bid more than £2m for the striker’s services but the South London outfit turned their offer down.
The referee
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Hide AdJohn Brooks: The Leicestershire official will be in charge of Preston North End’s clash with Millwall at Deepdale on Saturday. It is the first time that Mr Brooks has refereed a North End game. This is his first season of being in the middle in the Championship and he has so far refereed 13 games at this level. Mr Brooks has also taken charge of a couple of games in League One this season, including Fleetwood’s 3-2 victory over Blackpool in October.
Odds
PNE 23/20
Draw 23/10
Millwall 5/2
This week in PNE history
44 years ago: Preston beat Northern League side Bishop Auckland 2-0 in the second round of the FA Cup on December 14, 1974. Tony Morley and player/manager Bobby Charlton scored for North End.
40 years ago: North End hit Charlton Athletic for six at Deepdale on December 12, 1978. Eric Potts and Alex Bruce both scored twice, with Gordon Coleman and Michael Robinson also on target in the 6-1 victory.
36 years ago: On December 11, 1982, Preston beat Blackpool 2-1 in the FA Cup second round at Deepdale. Don O’Riordan and Gordon Coleman scored.
22 years ago: Preston beat Blackpool 3-0 in a Second Division game on December 13, 1996. Gary Bennett (2) and David Reeves found the net.