Preston pre match chat
Early thread.
And all is well again.
Now it is Chris Wilder getting hammered by Blunts fans whilst we sit pretty back top of the table.
A hard fought victory and daylight robbery vs Boro sees us back on track.
In our own hands and on paper with fortunate fixtures.
First up a reunion with Paul Heckingbottom as we welcome Preston.
Pegged back late by Cardiff last match for a 2-2 draw.
Having a fairly solid season though, up to 14th.
The draw specialist of the league with a massive 19, and not an easy side to beat with the 7th least.
Indeed in our last fixture it took a 93rd minute own goal to snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat for us.
8th best defence in the league, they are a pretty solid outfit, but they've scored the same amount of goals as Plymouth, Cardiff and Derby all bottom 4 so the issues are clear.
Form wise it's only 2 wins in 12 for Preston and 0 wins in the last 4 away.
Indeed away has been an issue with 10 of their 12 defeats away from home and only 3 wins all season.
But they aren't without eye catching results, drew with Burnley and Sunderland twice in the league and smashed Burnley 3-0 in the FA Cup.
They also have a penalties win vs Premier League Fulham in the cup against a much changed but still by Championship standards very strong Fulham side.
So not an opponent unable to compete against stronger sides.
And it is only 1 defeat in 5 in the league.
However they do struggle to win, the 10 wins is only worsened in the league by bottom 3 Cardiff and Plymouth.
Same as the other bottom 3 side Luton.
So from our point of view whilst not an opponent to take lightly one we should be beating especially at home at this stage.
Tactically they have recently been alternating between a 3-5-2 formation and a 5-3-2 one.
Not a massive focus on possession but not totally against it either, 48% average.
As you'd expect from the goal issue they aren't massive shooters, bottom four for shots taken.
But reasonably mid table for shots against so fairly decent at defending their goal.
They are pretty progressive with the ball, 9th for progressive passes (14for passes overall) which shows a focus on going forward when they can.
Vast majority of the passes are long, they aren't against keeping the ball a bit but they won't mess about.
Heavily influenced by the fact they put a big focus on the big switch of play.
Top 4 for that so something our full backs and manager need to be aware of.
Quite a physical side, top 6 for tackles and tackles won but not as you'd expect maybe in the defensive 3rd.
They win most of their tackles in midfield, and rank high in the league in thay regard. Likely why they use a 3 man midfield.
They also are happy for bodies on the line, top 6 for blocks and interceptions as well.
And more than happy for teams to attack down the flanks and one issue we may have given how narrow our attack can be is with a back 3 and 3 man midfield space in the middle will be practically non existent.
In terms of key players.
Emil Riis Jakobsen is top goalscorer with 10 goals this season and is given freedom to drift around and use his technical ability and eye for a dribble to get Preston up the pitch.
In tandem with him is beefy Montenegro striker Milutin Osmajic. 8 goals this season and a big strong lad with a bit of an edge.
And finally on loan Villa man the very versatile
Kaine Kesler-Hayden. A player who has played in every position down both sides as well as cb. Most comfortable as a right wing back though. A tough tackling defender but one with great athletic ability and am eye for a goal or an assist.
So a decent trio on paper.
But again this is a team that struggles for goals so something clearly goes wrong somewhere.
So a side not without threat and in some ways one almost designed to stop us with the crowded midfield and solid defence.
But one struggling for goals and with a heck of a lot of away defeats.
For ourselves confidence hopefully restored and back in our own hands!!!!!
Many selection questions.
Dan James is struggling with a hamstring issue according to DF's post match press conference.
Who comes in? Does the Schmidt experiment spread to a start?
Does Gnonto get asked to go wide right which he's done before but not his best role?
Or with the seeming Bamford redemption cycle is it time for another? A return for Ramazani?
Speaking of which, is it time for a rest for Piroe who is clearly struggling now?
The popular decision likely would see Bamford come in but you have to remember his injury issues and how fragile his body is?
Do you risk it from the start?
Any other selection queries?
Bogle?
Aaronson?
And all is well again.
Now it is Chris Wilder getting hammered by Blunts fans whilst we sit pretty back top of the table.
A hard fought victory and daylight robbery vs Boro sees us back on track.
In our own hands and on paper with fortunate fixtures.
First up a reunion with Paul Heckingbottom as we welcome Preston.
Pegged back late by Cardiff last match for a 2-2 draw.
Having a fairly solid season though, up to 14th.
The draw specialist of the league with a massive 19, and not an easy side to beat with the 7th least.
Indeed in our last fixture it took a 93rd minute own goal to snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat for us.
8th best defence in the league, they are a pretty solid outfit, but they've scored the same amount of goals as Plymouth, Cardiff and Derby all bottom 4 so the issues are clear.
Form wise it's only 2 wins in 12 for Preston and 0 wins in the last 4 away.
Indeed away has been an issue with 10 of their 12 defeats away from home and only 3 wins all season.
But they aren't without eye catching results, drew with Burnley and Sunderland twice in the league and smashed Burnley 3-0 in the FA Cup.
They also have a penalties win vs Premier League Fulham in the cup against a much changed but still by Championship standards very strong Fulham side.
So not an opponent unable to compete against stronger sides.
And it is only 1 defeat in 5 in the league.
However they do struggle to win, the 10 wins is only worsened in the league by bottom 3 Cardiff and Plymouth.
Same as the other bottom 3 side Luton.
So from our point of view whilst not an opponent to take lightly one we should be beating especially at home at this stage.
Tactically they have recently been alternating between a 3-5-2 formation and a 5-3-2 one.
Not a massive focus on possession but not totally against it either, 48% average.
As you'd expect from the goal issue they aren't massive shooters, bottom four for shots taken.
But reasonably mid table for shots against so fairly decent at defending their goal.
They are pretty progressive with the ball, 9th for progressive passes (14for passes overall) which shows a focus on going forward when they can.
Vast majority of the passes are long, they aren't against keeping the ball a bit but they won't mess about.
Heavily influenced by the fact they put a big focus on the big switch of play.
Top 4 for that so something our full backs and manager need to be aware of.
Quite a physical side, top 6 for tackles and tackles won but not as you'd expect maybe in the defensive 3rd.
They win most of their tackles in midfield, and rank high in the league in thay regard. Likely why they use a 3 man midfield.
They also are happy for bodies on the line, top 6 for blocks and interceptions as well.
And more than happy for teams to attack down the flanks and one issue we may have given how narrow our attack can be is with a back 3 and 3 man midfield space in the middle will be practically non existent.
In terms of key players.
Emil Riis Jakobsen is top goalscorer with 10 goals this season and is given freedom to drift around and use his technical ability and eye for a dribble to get Preston up the pitch.
In tandem with him is beefy Montenegro striker Milutin Osmajic. 8 goals this season and a big strong lad with a bit of an edge.
And finally on loan Villa man the very versatile
Kaine Kesler-Hayden. A player who has played in every position down both sides as well as cb. Most comfortable as a right wing back though. A tough tackling defender but one with great athletic ability and am eye for a goal or an assist.
So a decent trio on paper.
But again this is a team that struggles for goals so something clearly goes wrong somewhere.
So a side not without threat and in some ways one almost designed to stop us with the crowded midfield and solid defence.
But one struggling for goals and with a heck of a lot of away defeats.
For ourselves confidence hopefully restored and back in our own hands!!!!!
Many selection questions.
Dan James is struggling with a hamstring issue according to DF's post match press conference.
Who comes in? Does the Schmidt experiment spread to a start?
Does Gnonto get asked to go wide right which he's done before but not his best role?
Or with the seeming Bamford redemption cycle is it time for another? A return for Ramazani?
Speaking of which, is it time for a rest for Piroe who is clearly struggling now?
The popular decision likely would see Bamford come in but you have to remember his injury issues and how fragile his body is?
Do you risk it from the start?
Any other selection queries?
Bogle?
Aaronson?