Preston North End vs Arsenal – Match preview and team news

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·30 ottobre 2024

Preston North End vs Arsenal – Match preview and team news

Arsenal make the trip to Lancashire to visit Championship outfit Preston North End in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup tonight.

The Gunners booked their spot in the round after thrashing Bolton Wanderers in a 5-1 rout in North London, whilst Preston knocked out Premier League opposition in Fulham by remarkably winning a penalty shootout 16-15 at Deepdale – the longest penalty shootout in the competition’s history.

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Paul Heckingbottom’s side are lacking depth in the forward positions due to the injuries to Will Keane and Ched Evans. Milutin Osmajic is also serving the fifth game of his eight-match ban after he was found guilty of biting Blackburn Rovers defender Owen Beck.

Gabriel is set to miss out for Arsenal after being forced off in the 2-2 draw with Liverpool. Mikel Arteta may opt to start William Saliba, who is eligible to return from suspension.

Martin Odegaard, Riccardo Calafiori and Takehiro Tomiyasu will remain sidelined for at least the next fortnight and Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber are expected to be rested.

Second-choice goalkeeper Neto is cup-tied after appearing for parent club Bournemouth in this competition earlier this season.

Preston North End vs Arsenal – Match preview and team news

Form

Preston North End: WDWDD

After a poor start to their Championship campaign, Preston have improved following the appointment of Paul Heckingbottom.

The former Sheffield United manager was brought in after Ryan Lowe was sacked and it has proven to be a sensible decision by the Preston board.

The Lilywhites are unbeaten in their last five and have lost two out of their last thirteen matches under the 47-year-old’s stewardship.

🪄 Filth from Geads. 🎯 Tidy from @CallumRobinson7. ✨ Scenes at Deepdale. What a moment back in 2017. 🤌 #pnefc
– martedì 29 ottobre 2024

Preston will be looking to right a few wrongs on Wednesday night after a late collapse at the weekend allowed Wayne Rooney’s Plymouth to snatch a point at Home Park, despite trailing 3-1 with eight minutes to go.

Arsenal: WWLWD

Arsenal had to settle for a point with Liverpool on Sunday as the two sides played out a thrilling 2-2 draw.

Bukayo Saka scored a thumping opening goal on his return from injury and summer signing Mikel Merino netted his first goal for the North London club.

⚫️ 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛𝘿𝘼𝙔 🔴 🆚 Preston North End 🕢 7.45pm (UK) 🏆 Carabao Cup 🏟️ Deepdale Stadium
– mercoledì 30 ottobre 2024

They currently reside in third position in the Premier League but are already five points adrift of league leaders Manchester City.

Last Meeting: Preston 1-2 Arsenal, FA Cup, 7th January 2017.

Preston could not hold on to their early lead as they were dumped out of the FA Cup by Arsenal in the third round.

The Lilywhites flew out of the traps and got their just reward inside the opening ten minutes as Callum Robinson finished a flowing move.

Aidan McGeady outwitted Aaron Ramsey with some mesmerising footwork before cutting through the Arsenal backline with a pass into Jordan Hugill. The forward’s touch bounced off Gabriel Paulista and into the path of Robinson.

Preston had plenty of opportunities to double the advantage but failed to make their dominance count with Arsenal forced to hang on at times.

Arsenal’s quality eventually shone through as Alex Iwobi teed up Ramsey to equalise. Olivier Giroud broke Preston’s hearts in the final minute of normal time as he bundled in the winner after being set up by an excellent backheel by Lucas Perez.

The Gunners ended the campaign as FA Cup winners after beating Chelsea 2-1 at Wembley.

Predicted Lineups

Preston: Woodman; Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; Kesler-Hayden, Ledson, Whiteman, McCann, Potts; Greenwood, Riis Jakobsen.

Arsenal: Setford; Nichols, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Nwaneri, Jorginho, Rice; Sterling, Jesus, Martinelli

Who is the referee?

Peter Bankes will be the match official. He will be assisted by Edward Smart and Nick Greenhalgh while Tony Harrington will be the fourth official. VAR will not be in operation.