[themaclad]

Preston North End v Leicester City
Deepdale 29/4/2024 2000 hrs

https://www.lcfc.com/?lang=en

https://www.foxestalk.co.uk/forum/1-leic...ity-forum/

LAST TIME OUT





FORM GUIDE

PNE 5 FOXES 9

Misleading given they hammered Saints on Monday

In form



FANTASTIC SPEAKS

Ryan Lowe wants his side to finish what he feels has been a “fantastic” home campaign on a high, when Leicester City come to Deepdale on Monday evening.

North End will host the title-pushing Foxes for an 8pm kick-off in front of the Sky Sports cameras, looking to stop a promotion party, with Enzo Maresca’s side able to seal their return to the top flight in PR1.

While aware of the obvious threat they’ll pose, the PNE manager is keen for his side to add to the 37 points picked up on home turf already this season.



Talking about the preparations for the game, Ryan said: “We’ve been in for three days now on the bounce building up to this game. The noise is about them because they’ve done fantastically well, and rightly so.

“They’ve come down from the Premier League and they’ve got some fantastic players. They’re well coached, but we’ve got our own agenda and pride and passion to play for more points.



“We’re at home, we’ve had a fantastic campaign this season at home, and we want that to continue.

“We are coming up against a tough team which we know, but these are the games you play football for, against a team who are looking to get out of the division, and I’m hoping our lads will be champing at the bit for it.

“We’ve had a few good days of training. We’ll continue that over the next few days, and the lads are really looking forward to it.”

Results elsewhere ahead of Monday’s fixture under the lights may already confirm Leicester’s promotion, but they know that no matter what, three points will be enough.

Facing PNE, though, they’ll be coming up against a team with a good home record against the division’s automatic promotion challengers, having beaten Leeds United and Ipswich Town, and drawn with Southampton.

Ryan said: “We’ve always tried to make Deepdale a fortress. It takes a while because people have got to buy into what we’re doing. Slowly but surely they’ve done that.

“The fans have been excellent, especially since the Bristol City game onwards. They’ve really got behind the lads and galvanised the group, and when they do that it really does galvanise the group.

“They feel the love and the vibe off them with the singing and the shouting. I can feel it myself on the side. They play a big part in that and we want that to continue.”

Earlier in the campaign, it seemed an inevitability that Leicester City would be heading straight back into the Premier League, but a mixed run of form earlier this year allowed the chasing pack to close the gap.

They’ve proven their quality in the end, though, and are now very nearly there.

Ryan said: “It shows the strength of the Championship. You’d have thought with 94 points they’d be promoted by now.

“When we were looking at the fixtures early on and they were 18 points clear, I was hoping they were already promoted with two games to go,” he laughed, “but that’s the league.

“They’ve found themselves on the back of some defeats and some draws, but credit where credit’s do. They’re potentially going to go on and get promoted. We want to put a dent in that in terms of our own stuff.

“They’re coming to our place and we want to make sure we equip ourselves right and perform to the levels that we can. I think one manager said before they’re actually on loan to the Championship because of the financial packages and the parachute payments that come with it and the quality you’re coming up against.

“These are the games me, my staff and players should be really rallying for because these are the games you want to play in.”

Who’s Available?

Ryan Lowe expects to have the same squad who travelled to QPR last weekend available to him again on Monday night.

Ali McCann, Ben Whiteman, and Brad Potts all remain sidelined and are not expected to feature again this season.

Striker Ched Evans could make his 400th career appearance in this fixture.

Opposition Focus


Having had a huge lead at the top of the table earlier in the campaign, automatic promotion seemed an inevitability for Leicester City, but a mixed run earlier this year allowed the chasing pack to close the gap.

Enzo Maresca’s side, in their first campaign back in the Championship following relegation, have shown their quality though, and an incredible 5-0 victory over Southampton in the week saw them take a huge stride towards the top flight.

With a round of fixtures to come before the game on Monday night, results elsewhere may see them seal promotion before a ball’s kicked at Deepdale, but they know three points on the night will be enough regardless.

Match Officials


Referee: Sam Allison
Assistant Referee: Blake Antrobus and Alex James
Fourth Official: Josh Smith

Sam Allison will take charge of only the third PNE match of his career on Monday night, with the previous fixture being the 1-1 draw against Rotherham United in September 2023.

Allison has shown 115 yellow cards and one red in 32 matches so far this term.

Teams who win promotion at Deepdale will probably have Leicester added to the list providing Marching all Together don't cock up at Loftus Road tonight. In their way us, apparently according to team news Ched could make his 400 th apperance on Monday begs the question, why?
Mind you Woodburn played at Rangers and like Ched will probably be shown the door at the end of the season, could see Browne's last home game given he's not signed a new deal
#Unfortunately the end of season parade will probably be concluded in front of celebrating Midlanders, wonder if we will actually put in a performance, under the lights on Sky TV what could possibly go wrong?

[themaclad]

Saved by the bell Falling apart did indeed fall apart losing 4-0 at QPR so City are now up hopefully they will have spent the entire weekend getting completely bladdered

[themaclad]

Preston North End 0 Leicester City 3 Vardy McAteer

PNE line-up: Woodman; Whatmough, Lindsay, Hughes; Millar, Ledson (Holmes, 80),
Browne (Stewart, 86), Brady; Keane (T.Mawene, 86), Frøkjær (N.Mawene, 86); Osmajić (Riis, 68). Subs not used: Cornell, Cunningham, Evans, Best.

Leicester City line-up: Stolarczyk; Pereira, Coady, Vestergaard, Faes; Akgün (Dewsbury-Hall, 75), Wiks, Ndidi (Choudhury, 70); Fatawu (Justin, 84), Vardy (Cannon, 75), McAteer (Mavididi, 70). Subs not used: Hermansen, Justin, Doyle, Daka, Praet.

Attendance: 19,641 (5,744 Leicester City fans).

Referee: Mr S Allison.

They came they saw and they won with ease, congratulations to Leicester City on winning the league although maybe their fans need a history lesson, "Champions of England you"ll never sing that", at the ground of the team who were the first ever Champions.
Apparently the fraud in the manager has stated the players have not fully bought into what he is trying to do, judging by the reaction on Social Media last night vasts amounts have seen what he is trying to do and now want him sacked(yours truly included)
No goals in 6 of the last 7 games only the hapless Huddersfield have had to pick the ball out of the net. Our most dangerous player Millar playing right wing back given he's left footed and doesn't like playing wing back, Mads FJ dropped last week for the Merseyside Messi(Woodburn who last night didn't even make the squad) makes you wonder what goes through Fantastic's head.

At three down their manager was on his feet wanting more from his players, ours was sat down hopefully looking at the jobs vacancy column because that is where he should be heading. Stick with Fantastic we go down next season.

A unseasonably cold and wet end of April day, even the Cherry Blossom on Blackpool Road looked bedraggled, Foxes fans already arrived looking in hope for a pub anywhere near the ground, must be the only club in the league without a pub within a mile of the ground.
The first half was a training exercise for them, we had limited attacks otherwise we were defending our 18 yard line with ten men, to be fair they didn't create many chances but McAteer should have scored with a header at the back pust following a cross by the impressive Fatawu.
But just before the break they took the lead through Steptoe although get the feeling he mishhit the shot and it curved just far enough away from Woodman into the side netting.
From then on in we were never remotely in with a chance of getting anything from the game.
The second half was a stroll, the second came from some utter woeful defending, Faes picking the ball up in midfield literally ambles through our crumbling defence before firing a shot which hits the post the rebound is gratefully hammered into the net by Steptoe, game over, seven minutes into the second half people were heading for the exits.

Twenty minutes from time Fatawu ambles into the penalty area wanders past a defender chips to an unmarked McAteer four yards out, he heads home even more home fans leave.
Fatawu fires a shot which hits the post, Vardy had also earlier missed a one on one which would have given him a hat trick. All that was left was our likely departing skipper to be substituted in a triple substitution, to say he was unimpressed was an understanding, 400 plus games and not allowed to have the ovation he so richly deserved by the fraud sat in the managers seat. Fairly obvious the manager and the captain have long sincee being on the same page as each other.
At the end the players did a lap of honour must have be odd doing it in front of 5700 City fans.



Albion on Saturday what hapless crap will we serve up there and Hull fans thinking we are going to do them a favour, ain't happening lads we are on the beach.

Preston North End boss Ryan Lowe told BBC Radio Lancashire:

"It was tough. They are a good team, aren’t they?

“The first goal is hard to take when you are not far off half-time. We knew they would have large passages of play and control of play, and the first goal was a bit of a sucker punch.

“We asked the players to be a little bit braver in the second half, and get up a bit. But when you see the three goals, you can’t give a team like Leicester those types of opportunities because they can punish you."


NO S**T SHERLOCK

LOWE OUT

[themaclad]