Preston v Burnley, a bog-standard English fixture or… football’s ultimate heritage match?
“On the face of it, Preston North End versus Burnley seems like a bog-standard Championship fixture. Since the start of the 21st century, the clubs have met 26 times in the second tier of English football, making it one of the division’s most regular encounters. Such a sense of routine was supported by the outcomes in two league fixtures this season, with meetings at Turf Moor in October and Deepdale earlier this month finishing in goalless draws. The BBC wrote of ‘a typically frantic and feisty Lancashire derby’ in February — that game has subsequently led to an investigation by the Football Association following claims of an alleged racist comment by the Preston forward Milutin Osmajic (Osmajic ‘strongly refuted’ the claims, Preston said) — but it was otherwise only notable because the visiting team extended their remarkable record of consecutive clean sheets to 11. …”
NY Times/The Athletic
Our picture archives do not stretch back to the 1880s, but this image shows Preston scoring a penalty against Burnley in 1953.