21-11-2024, 20:01
The Fitness Test
Will Keane has returned to training after missing the previous two months with a thigh injury and should be in contention to feature on Saturday.
Liam Lindsay, who was forced off through injury just before the break, is “touch and go”, however Robbie Brady isn’t ready for a return.
Aside from the injury front, Milutin Osmajić will also be back available to manager Paul Heckingbottom after serving his eight-match suspension.
The Rams
After two seasons in League One, Derby County have returned to the second tier and they’ve adjusted well to life back in the Championship.
Under Paul Warne, they’ve lost just once in their last seven league matches, with wins over QPR and Coventry City coming within that run of fixtures.
There’ll be a return to Deepdale for Tom Barkhuizen, too, for the first time since his departure in 2022, after making 209 appearances for PNE over a five-and-a-half-year period.
The Officials
Referee: David Webb
Assistant Referees: Jonathan Hunt and Hristo Karaivanov
Fourth Official: Zac Kennard-Kettle
David Webb will referee North End for the first time this season on Saturday.
The last time he took charge of a PNE fixture was in February 2024, in a 2-2 draw against Blackburn Rovers at Deepdale.
In total so far this season, Webb has shown 28 yellow cards in 11 matches.
THE BOSS
Paul Heckingbottom is looking forward to the competition in the forward positions hotting up as Milutin Osmajić and Will Keane come back into contention.
North End have been without Osmajić for the previous eight matches due to suspension, while Keano’s been sidelined since the end of September.
Due to those lack of options, almost all of the workload has fallen on the shoulders of Emil Riis, but with the striking duo returning – as well as Ched Evans also now being an option – there are decisions to be made.
Hecky Looking Forward To Return Of Striking DuoPaul Heckingbottom is looking forward to the competition in the forward positions hotting up as Milutin Osmajic and Will Keane come back into contention.
On Milly in particular, Hecky said: “I spoke to him about it (the ban). He's let us all down: himself, me, the club, players, staff.
“But he also understands when he's been watching the games in the spell he's been missing that we've been creating chances. He's been feeling that because he knows he would have been scoring goals, and he would have been helping the team.
“We've all suffered from it. He's got to learn from it and got to make sure it doesn't happen again. That’s it. Hopefully now moving forward, he can pick up from where he left off.
“We were really pleased with him when we came through the door. He's a little bit different in some ways, but we thought he responded really well. We started to see him scoring goals and then we've been without him.
“It'll help everyone. It’ll help Emil, who’s had to do a really good shift. It helps the team and he helps us make changes from the bench. It’s important that we get not only him back but also Will to share that workload and create that competition.”
In other injury news, the weekend will likely come too soon for Robbie Brady to return and central defender Liam Lindsay is “touch and go” due to the injury he picked up just before the break.
It’s Derby County who come to Deepdale on Saturday, looking to continue their positive start to the campaign, following their promotion from League One last season. They sit 12th after the first 15 matches of the season.
Hecky said: “I know the management team there well. It doesn’t surprise me at all that they've been picking up points. It doesn’t surprise me how they’ve been playing. It doesn't surprise me where the threats come from. I knew they'd be fine.
“I knew they'd be stronger at home than away and they'll want to change that just as we do.
“The players they added in the summer were good and they’re really good fits for what Warney (Paul Warne) tries to do as well in terms of personality and that team ethic.
“But without me being disrespectful, and I’m paying them big compliments, all I’m really bothered about is what we do and how we perform, just as I have been against all the other opponents as well.
“We need to make sure that we perform at our best, play at our best and make sure it's a tough day for them.”
MACS VIEW
No more international football until March we can now have a proper run at this, definitely need to win a few more although we rarely beat this lot, Fang back which will create a bit of competition up front personal view Ledson needs to start but we shall see on Saturday
Will Keane has returned to training after missing the previous two months with a thigh injury and should be in contention to feature on Saturday.
Liam Lindsay, who was forced off through injury just before the break, is “touch and go”, however Robbie Brady isn’t ready for a return.
Aside from the injury front, Milutin Osmajić will also be back available to manager Paul Heckingbottom after serving his eight-match suspension.
The Rams
After two seasons in League One, Derby County have returned to the second tier and they’ve adjusted well to life back in the Championship.
Under Paul Warne, they’ve lost just once in their last seven league matches, with wins over QPR and Coventry City coming within that run of fixtures.
There’ll be a return to Deepdale for Tom Barkhuizen, too, for the first time since his departure in 2022, after making 209 appearances for PNE over a five-and-a-half-year period.
The Officials
Referee: David Webb
Assistant Referees: Jonathan Hunt and Hristo Karaivanov
Fourth Official: Zac Kennard-Kettle
David Webb will referee North End for the first time this season on Saturday.
The last time he took charge of a PNE fixture was in February 2024, in a 2-2 draw against Blackburn Rovers at Deepdale.
In total so far this season, Webb has shown 28 yellow cards in 11 matches.
THE BOSS
Paul Heckingbottom is looking forward to the competition in the forward positions hotting up as Milutin Osmajić and Will Keane come back into contention.
North End have been without Osmajić for the previous eight matches due to suspension, while Keano’s been sidelined since the end of September.
Due to those lack of options, almost all of the workload has fallen on the shoulders of Emil Riis, but with the striking duo returning – as well as Ched Evans also now being an option – there are decisions to be made.
Hecky Looking Forward To Return Of Striking DuoPaul Heckingbottom is looking forward to the competition in the forward positions hotting up as Milutin Osmajic and Will Keane come back into contention.
On Milly in particular, Hecky said: “I spoke to him about it (the ban). He's let us all down: himself, me, the club, players, staff.
“But he also understands when he's been watching the games in the spell he's been missing that we've been creating chances. He's been feeling that because he knows he would have been scoring goals, and he would have been helping the team.
“We've all suffered from it. He's got to learn from it and got to make sure it doesn't happen again. That’s it. Hopefully now moving forward, he can pick up from where he left off.
“We were really pleased with him when we came through the door. He's a little bit different in some ways, but we thought he responded really well. We started to see him scoring goals and then we've been without him.
“It'll help everyone. It’ll help Emil, who’s had to do a really good shift. It helps the team and he helps us make changes from the bench. It’s important that we get not only him back but also Will to share that workload and create that competition.”
In other injury news, the weekend will likely come too soon for Robbie Brady to return and central defender Liam Lindsay is “touch and go” due to the injury he picked up just before the break.
It’s Derby County who come to Deepdale on Saturday, looking to continue their positive start to the campaign, following their promotion from League One last season. They sit 12th after the first 15 matches of the season.
Hecky said: “I know the management team there well. It doesn’t surprise me at all that they've been picking up points. It doesn’t surprise me how they’ve been playing. It doesn't surprise me where the threats come from. I knew they'd be fine.
“I knew they'd be stronger at home than away and they'll want to change that just as we do.
“The players they added in the summer were good and they’re really good fits for what Warney (Paul Warne) tries to do as well in terms of personality and that team ethic.
“But without me being disrespectful, and I’m paying them big compliments, all I’m really bothered about is what we do and how we perform, just as I have been against all the other opponents as well.
“We need to make sure that we perform at our best, play at our best and make sure it's a tough day for them.”
MACS VIEW
No more international football until March we can now have a proper run at this, definitely need to win a few more although we rarely beat this lot, Fang back which will create a bit of competition up front personal view Ledson needs to start but we shall see on Saturday
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