Preston North End

Preston North End boss Paul Heckingbottom has praised his depleted squad after the side claimed a 3-2 win over Sheffield United on Saturday.

The 48-year-old made four changes to face his former side, with defender Andrew Hughes, who had scored North End's only goal in their previous 2-1 loss to Birmingham City, missing out.

"I'm proud of the players," Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"We had a lot of damage coming out of the game on Wednesday night [at Birmingham City] that we weren't really aware of.

"We were missing a lot of key players, but the boys who had to go again were excellent, and the ones who we put back in were very good. I'm proud of what they did today.

"I don't think we've been good enough at set-plays all season, and you've just seen the value of them."

Listen to the full post-match interview on BBC Sounds

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Both Sheffield United and Preston North End will be dismayed by their previous losses last time out and will be hoping to make amends at Bramall Lane on Saturday (15:00 BST).

The Blades were handed a 3-1 loss to allow Blackburn to escape relegation, while Preston's close 2-1 encounter with Birmingham City went the way of the Blues.

The two are currently level on points at 57 in the midtable - can one pull away?

• Sheffield United have only lost two of their last 22 home league matches against Preston (W14 D6), winning three of their last four (D1) since a 0-1 reverse in April 2018.

• After their 3-2 win in October, Preston are looking to complete only a fourth ever league double over Sheffield United, after 1894-95, 1896-97, and 2017-18.

• Sheffield United have only lost their final home league match in one of their last 10 Championship seasons; however, that was to Preston in 2017-18 (0-1).

• Preston haven't won their final away league game in any of the last three seasons (D1 L2) since a 3-1 win at Barnsley in 2021-22.

• Paul Heckingbottom has won just one of his five previous league games against former side Sheffield United (D1 L3), although that was this season's reverse meeting with Preston (3-2 in October).

Preston manager Paul Heckingbottom spoke to BBC Radio Lancashire following their 2-1 defeat at Birmingham.

"I have a couple of big frustrations. The goals from our point of view, and then the fact we couldn't take one of the opportunities to get something from the game," he said.

"We started brightly and the two goals were really poor. That 10 minutes knocked us but we responded and regrouped, scored the next goal and got better and better as the game went on.

"Birmingham changed and went more man for man against us, but in the second half we had chances to deal with that. I am disappointed because we were on the front foot, much more aggressive, and created more than enough. That was another frustration.

"Away from home in the Championship is always tough, but we have played worse than that and won games. I felt the game was there for us. We were OK in the first half – even taking the goals out of it – but I've said many times I want to make that shift and get on top away from home and play with a bravery."

Image source, Opta

Birmingham City and Preston North End will look to end on a positive in their final three games of the season despite being out of contention at both ends of the Championship table.

The two sides meet at St Andrew's on Wednesday night (kick-off 19:45 BST) with neither able to finish in a play-off race or be relegated.

Blues have won just one of their past six games (D2 L3) but have at least stayed up following promotion from League One last season.

The Lilywhites had their four-game unbeaten run (W2 D2) ended by a 2-0 home defeat to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

• Birmingham have won their past two league games against Preston, and are looking to complete the double over the Lilywhites for the first time since 2000-01.

• Preston have lost 1-0 in their past two league games against Birmingham. They last lost three in a row without scoring against the Blues between 1925 and 1935.

• Birmingham have won 10 of their 21 home league games this season (D8 L3); they last recorded more home league wins in a second tier campaign in 2011-12 (13).

• Preston are looking to win successive away league matches for the second time this season, previously doing so in November/December at Sheffield Wednesday (3-2) and Oxford (2-1).

• Lewis Dobbin has been involved in nine away league goals for Preston this season (4 goals, 5 assists); the last player to reach doubles figures for them in a Championship campaign was Tom Barkhuizen in 2017-18 (11).

Image source, Shutterstock

Paul Heckingbottom laid into his Preston players after their 2-0 home loss to West Brom, claiming their display was unacceptable.

Heckingbottom felt his side were out-fought by West Brom at Deepdale as they saw their four-game unbeaten run end in miserable circumstances.

He told BBC Radio Lancashire: "The better team won. They out-fought us in the first half, I don't often say that. That was one of the two disappointing facts. The fact they out-fought us in the first half and the fact that everything we prepared for, we just didn't execute.

"Sometimes if you don't give them the solutions, you are culpable. But we knew what we were going to face and we showed them at half-time what we were getting wrong and for some reason, we didn't do it any better.

"We were better in the second half and we did OK until they scored their second goal. That was another poor goal from our point of view and we can have no complaints.

"So, yeah, a disappointing day, one of the worst.

"If you get out-fought, that can't happen. You can get beat, but not like that. I expect us to turn up and compete."

Image source, Opta

West Bromwich Albion will hope to boost their Championship survival hopes when they visit Preston North End on Saturday (kick-off 15:00 BST).

The Baggies are two points above the relegation zone and unbeaten in their past seven league games (W2 D5), though they have won just two of their previous 18 (D9 L7).

The Lilywhites are 13th on 57 points and cannot go down, while a play-off spot is almost impossible as they trail sixth-placed Hull by 11 points with four games to play.

• Preston have won just two of their previous 15 league games against West Brom (D3 L10), with these victories coming consecutively in January and October 2022.

• West Brom have won five of their past six league games against Preston (D1), conceding just three goals in that run.

• Preston are unbeaten in their past four Championship games (W2 D2); this despite being on a run of 11 games without a clean sheet, the longest current run in the division.

• Nine of West Brom's past 14 Championship games have ended level (W2 L3). Indeed, the Baggies have had more draws (9) than any other team in the division since the start of 2026.

• Milutin Osmajic, Lewis Dobbin and Alfie Devine are all Preston's joint-top scorers in the Championship this season (8). This is the first campaign since 2017-18 in which Preston have had as many as three players with 8+ goals in the Championship (Tom Barkhuizen, Sean Maguire and Jordan Hugill).

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea's Jimmy-Jay Morgan, 20, is being tracked by Swansea, Sheffield United and Preston North End among a host of Championship sides after impressing on loan at Peterborough.

The attacker has spent the season at the League One club, scoring 14 goals in 36 appearances.

He has a year left on his Chelsea deal and a decision on his future is looming in the summer.

Morgan joined Chelsea's academy at the age of eight before moving to Southampton and then returning to Stamford Bridge in 2023.

The Poole-born England youth international has represented his country from Under-16 level through to Under-20.

Image source, Getty Images

Preston North End boss Paul Heckingbottom spoke to BBC Radio Lancashire after their away win over Charlton Athletic.

"I'm really pleased It was hard earned and we had to show everything," he said. "The game started really fast and it was to and fro until they scored when I thought we got a lot more control of the game.

"We scored a good goal, made some really good opportunities and we came out in the second half and were the same again

"But whenever you don't get that two-goal margin you know you will have to defend,

"Charlton are at their most dangerous when they are direct so it made for a nervy finish and we had to defend the box.

"There were some really good challenges, headers and blocks we expected it and knew we had to do it. We stood up and were really good value."Preston North End boss Paul Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire:

"I'm really pleased. It was hard earned and we had to show everything. The game started really fast and it was to and fro until they scored, when I thought we got a lot more control of the game.

"We scored a good goal, made some really good opportunities and we came out in the second half and were the same again

"But whenever you don't get that two-goal margin you know you will have to defend.

"Charlton are at their most dangerous when they are direct so it made for a nervy finish and we had to defend the box.

"There were some really good challenges, headers and blocks. We expected it and knew we had to do it. We stood up and were really good value."

Image source, Getty Images

The EFL has announced the fixtures for the 2026-27 season will be published at midday on Thursday, 25 June.

The first-round draws for the Carabao Cup and the Vertu Trophy will be made on the same day.

The new season will kick off on the weekend of August 7-9 with the first round of the Carabao Cup, and the opening fixtures in the Championship, League One and League Two will follow a week later on 14-16 August.

The first round of the Vertu Trophy will be played in the week commencing 21 September.

Social media has made the abuse of footballers "the norm", according to Preston North End boss Paul Heckingbottom.

Lancashire Police are investigating after Preston's Thierry Small was racially abused in an Instagram post following the own goal he scored in Monday's 1-1 draw with QPR in the Championship.

"Any sort of abuse is something I really don't like, but people are big and brave on social media," Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"We know the police are involved and it's someone not connected to us, who lives out of the country and is known to have done it before, targeting players at other clubs so it looks like he's a professional idiot rather than just a one-off idiot."

Preston released a statement , externalcondemning the abuse aimed at Small but Heckingbottom said the problem is a difficult one to deal with.

"Social media plays a part in it because it becomes a norm - you see some of the stuff that's written on there is evil, so to cross that line to become racist, it's smaller because people are doing it all the time and it's just promoting it.

"It's a safe haven and nothing happens, we'll never see this guy, he won't do it to our faces.

"If it's someone at the stadium the police can deal with it, but to hide behind an online profile, it's just something we have to make sure Thierry knows we've got his back and the fans will show their love for him at the next game."

Preston are currently 14th in the Championship table and visit Charlton Athletic on Saturday (15:00 BST).

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Image source, Getty Images

Preston North End have released a statement condemning racist abuse directed at left-back Thierry Small following the club's 1-1 draw with Queens Park Rangers on Monday.

North End stated that they had discovered "deplorable comments of a racist nature" aimed at Small on a club Instagram post.

Small, 21, scored an own goal in the 82nd minute of the match and the abuse has been reported to Lancashire Police.

"The club continues to reiterate its stance against racism and condemns any behaviour of this nature," the statement said., external

"There is no place for such abhorrent and frankly disgusting and discriminatory language in football nor society

"If and when the individual responsible is identified, they will be banned from Deepdale for life."

Image source, Getty Images

Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom says he was frustrated with the way his side drew 2-2 at Leicester City.

Mistakes from his side were to blame for both of Leicester's goals.

Patson Daka took advantage of Andrew Moran's weak backpass to put the Foxes in front early on before Pol Valentin's poor touch allowed Daka the chance to blast in the second.

The point sees Preston drop to 15th place in the Championship.

"We created all four goals," he told BBC Radio Lancashire:

"Regardless of the position they've got some real good individual players and we defended our box well.

"They got in behind us once where Dan (Iversen) makes that save where we get things wrong, apart from that it's shots from the edge of the box.

"For us to give them two goals the way we did, to just get that point is really, really frustrating."