[themaclad]

Preston North End will take on Italian opponents for the first time in the club’s history this weekend as Fiorentina come to Lancashire.

In Fiorentina, North End are taking on a side who have twice come moments away from glory in the previous two seasons, having reached back-to-back UEFA Conference League finals, but lost both in the very late stages.

They’ve had a change in the dugout over the summer, with former Italy international Raffaele Palladino taking over the side which finished eighth in Serie A last season.

Fiorentina have also added a few new faces to the squad, including former Everton forward Moise Kean and Croatian defender Marin Pongračić.

The Italian side have been training in Preston all week and face Bolton Wanderers on Friday night, before heading to Deepdale, and they’ll then take on Hull City on Tuesday.

For PNE and Ryan Lowe, pre-season so far has been used to offer minutes to the entire squad with wholesale changes being made in each fixture, although the manager is likely to go strong for this friendly given the start of the campaign is now just two weeks away.