Match Pack: Preston North End v Watford

• Preston North End v Watford
• Sky Bet Championship
• Deepdale
• Saturday August 20, 3pm BST

• Referee: Darren Bond
  
• Assistants: Richard Wild and Jonathan Hunt
  
• Fourth Official: Simon Mather
  

Preston North End have made an unbeaten start to the campaign and are still yet to concede in the league, but with only one goal scored the Lilywhites will be hoping to notch more against the Hornets.

Manager Ryan Lowe was impressed by their performance last time out against Rotherham United, but he will be hoping to find that all-important winner this Saturday.

• Watford have won their last two league games against Preston, but have never won three in a row versus the Lilywhites.
  
• The Hornets have only lost three of their last 23 Championship games, with all their defeats coming away from Vicarage Road.
  
• Preston have only lost two of their 18 home league matches against Watford, although they lost their most recent game against them at Deepdale in February 2021, losing 1-0.

For a full statistical breakdown, check out Stats Buzz: Preston North End In Numbers.

Head Coach Rob Edwards confirmed ahead of the trip to Deepdale that Club Captain Tom Cleverley will be out for “a couple of weeks” with a calf injury.

Ismaïla Sarr missed Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw with Birmingham City through a minor hamstring complaint, but has returned to the training pitch and may be in contention.

Elsewhere, Imrân Louza continues to make progress in his recovery from a knee injury, Samuel Kalu is also on the comeback trail and midfielder Tom Dele-Bashiru is continuing rehabiliation for a knee ligament injury.

For Preston North End, Álvaro Fernández will be unavailable once again as he continues his recovery from an ankle injury.

Sean Maguire has returned to training, but this game will likely come too soon for him. Bambo Diaby also remains sidelined, with the defender expected to return to training next week.

Rob Edwards, Watford Head Coach:

“They’re [Preston] very well coached. They’ve had four clean sheets which indicates they’re very difficult to break down, but not only that, they’ve got a distinct way of playing, and some good footballers as well.

“I went to watch them last week and I liked them. They’ve got characters in there, resilience and all of those things you’d expect from a Championship team, but they’ve got a good way about them as well. It’s going to be a really tough game.”

Ryan Lowe, Preston Manager:

“I’m massively looking forward to it. When those teams are coming down from the Premier League you always look at them teams and think, ‘okay when do we play them?’.

“I think Rob [Edwards] will be looking to see the back of the transfer window because he’s got some quality players in there.

“But these are the games you want to be in the Championship for, playing the likes of Watford, Burnley, Norwich – the teams that have been in the Premier League for a year or a couple of years, so we’re really looking forward to it and hopefully it’ll be an exciting game.”

Overall:

Won: 13
Drawn: 13
Lost: 18

Last Six:

• February 2021: Preston North End 0-1 Watford (Championship)
• November 2020: Watford 4-1 Preston North End (Championship)
• August 2015: Preston North End 1-0 Watford (League Cup)
• May 2011: Preston North End 3-1 Watford (Championship)
• February 2011: Watford 2-2 Preston North End (Championship)
• April 2010: Preston North End 1-1 Watford (Championship)

A five-goal thriller saw Watford secure three points back in 2020 at Vicarage Road, winning 4-1 in the second-tier.