Let the football sort it out

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·17 April 2026

Let the football sort it out

Preston North End v West Bromwich Albion; Deepdale, Saturday 18th April 2026, 3pm

Football has not been the main topic of conversation around West Bromwich Albion this week, understandably, but being good at it is the one sure fire way that the club has to ensure they maintain their Championship status.

There is plenty to speculate about the potential PSR charge that hangs over the club, but if James Morrison’s team can get seven points from their remaining four games, it would seem that any potential points deduction would be largely immaterial. Saturday’s trip to Preston is a great opportunity to pick up the first three of those points.

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Paul Heckingbottom’s team were amongst the early pace-setters when the two clubs met at the Hawthorns in October. Albion’s victory saw them leapfrog the Lilywhites into fifth place but by the end of November, North End were back in the top six and just three points off an automatic promotion spot. They stayed in and around the top six over Christmas but after a victory at Ashton Gate on 4th January, they won just one of the next twelve league games and fell out of the promotion picture. Results have recovered since then and they are unbeaten in four with victories over Stoke City and Charlton Athletic. However, with no chance of exiting the division in either direction, Proud Preston are now just playing for pride.

James Morrison will, I’m sure, be encouraging his players to forget the off-field situation and concentrate on performing to their best over the remaining four matches of the campaign. After an encouraging point against promotion-chasing Millwall that extending the Baggies’ unbeaten run to seven games and moved them five points clear of the bottom three, Saturday’s results had already dampened the mood amongst Baggies fans even before the PSR news broke on Monday. Oxford’s win over Watford and Portsmouth’s dramatic late win at Middlesbrough shifted the goalposts somewhat and then, on Tuesday, Pompey made it two wins from two as they comfortably beat another promotion-chasing side in Ipswich Town.

It ultimately left Albion just two points clear of the bottom three while Blackburn’s defeat at Southampton means they are drawn back into the picture being just two points better off but having played a game more. Saints’ recent form highlights what a great point that was against them last month – that is the only game of their last eleven in all competitions that they haven’t won. In all, it’s 18 games unbeaten for the Saints, 15 of them victories.

Mozza should be able to welcome Karlan Grant and Chris Mepham to the squad this weekend with both playing a full part in training this week. Even more surprising is that the lesser-spotted Tammer Bany is also available for selection – the (now) Jordanian international has made just one brief substitute appearance for the Baggies this season, at QPR in December, shortly after making his international debut in a friendly against Mali in November. He then tore a thigh muscle in training over Christmas and is only now fit to be included in the matchday squad

Grant and Bany, in particular, will add much needed depth with injuries to Johnston and Wallace leaving the attacking options much reduced in recent weeks. While Albion have been unbeaten for seven matches, they haven’t scored since Maja’s first half penalty against Wrexham and they now need goals if they are be secure survival. Grant had been one of the Baggies’ better players this season before his untimely injury at Derby in January and if he is able to pick up where he left off, he will be a huge asset for the run in. Bany, on the other hand, has made just five substitute appearances for Albion in fourteen months with the club amassing to a total of 51 minutes (20 fewer than he played for Jordan in his one appearance). However, he could easily turn around his reputation with Albion fans with a meaningful impact in the next four matches.

One familiar name in the Preston ranks is Lewis Dobbin – Albion fans have watched in surprise as the man who was very disappointing in his loan spell at the Hawthorns has been anything but since joining North End at the start of the season, also on loan from Aston Villa. He has notched up eight goals and eight assists for the Lilywhites including one of each in their 2-1 victory at Charlton Athletic last weekend – the Baggies managed to keep him quiet in the return match at the Hawthorns in October, so let’s hope they can do the same this time around.

Playing a mid-table team with nothing to play for is often thought to be the best type of opponent when you need points at the end of the season. However, the lack of pressure on players can often make them play with freedom – remember Albion on the last day of last season had little to play for but demolished an admittedly poor Luton Town side who had everything riding on the result. It’s not necessarily going to be easy.

Only one of Albion’s remaining opponents have anything to play for, Ipswich Town, who were comprehensively beaten by Portsmouth this week. This is the Championship, it rarely goes exactly as you think it should.

History

The 1-1 draw in the equivalent fixture last season is the only one of the last six meetings between the two teams that hasn’t gone the Baggies’ way. North End’s 1-0 victory at Deepdale in October 2022 is the last time that they beat Albion, one of just two wins the Lilywhites have recorded in the last fifteen meetings between the teams – the Baggies have recorded ten wins in that period.

Preston are in their eleventh successive season in the Championship since their promotion from League One in 2015 – they haven’t played in the top tier since 1961 and were in the fourth tier as recently as 1996. The closest they have come to a return to football’s top table was in 2005 when they were beaten in the Championship Play-Off Final by West Ham United.

James Morrison’s men will be looking to complete a league double over Preston for the first time since the 2023/24 season. That was the last season that the Baggies won at Deepdale, a handsome 4-0 victory in late September thanks to goals from Darnell Furlong, Alex Mowatt, Matt Phillips and Kyle Bartley.

Unsurprisingly, that is Albion’s biggest ever win at Deepdale but not the only time they have scored four on that ground. In January 1959, Derek “The Tank” Kevan bagged a brace as Vic Buckingham’s Baggies won 4-2 at Preston in a Division One fixture – Frank Griffin and a Frank O’Farrell own goal completed the scoring for the visitors. That is Albion’s most recent top flight victory at Deepdale with North End suffering relegation the following season.

One of the most famous meetings between the teams was in the FA Cup final in 1888. Albion had knocked Preston out of the cup the previous season at the semi-final stage but the Lilywhites were hot favourites for the match and went as far as requesting for a picture with the trophy before kick-off. The Baggies were in their third successive final but had yet to win the cup; a 2-1 win at the Kennington Oval thanks to goals from “Jem” Bayliss and “Spry” Woodhall put that record to bed. With the advent of league football the following season, the “Invincibles” as Preston became known thanks to their unbeaten inaugural campaign, enacted swift revenge by comfortably winning both league matches against Albion with an aggregate score of 8-0!

66 years later, Albion would beat the Lilywhites in another cup final, this time at Wembley, to lift the famous trophy for the fourth time.