The inside track on Sheffield Wednesday's next opponents Preston North End from a man who knows
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The perennial playoff threats, expertly managed by hot property Alex Neil, look likely to once again just miss out on the top six after a miserable run of form, but will be desperate to turn that run on its head when they arrive in South Yorkshire.
But who are the key man and how are they likely to set up? We asked Dave Seddon, Preston North End writer for the Lancashire Evening Post, for his inside track on tomorrow’s visitors.
So, what’s eating Preston North End?
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Hide AdJanuary through to February they were very good. Then they lost back-to-back games against West Brom and Fulham and it took their momentum out of it. The last game before lockdown they were 1-0 up at QPR. QPR had a man sent off and they ended up winning 3-1, so towards the end of that period it was rough.
We all thought the lockdown might bring that bit of energy and spark back. They’ve looked fit enough and everything, they just haven’t clicked.
Things just haven’t fallen for them and they look so flat going forward. It’s always been a bit of a problem for North End, at the end of the season they scored plenty of goals but nobody scores up front, it was all from the wide areas of attacking midfield.
And that’s alright as long as they keep coming. It served them right in the first half of the season but they just don’t look like they have a goal in them.
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Hide AdThey were top in November, for about 24 hours, and they’ve tailed off again.
They’ve had two near-misses with the playoffs already. Does that put Alex Neil under pressure then?
It looks like this is the third year they’ll just miss out.
If they’d been just steady all season you could probably accepted being just outside a bit more but having been up the top few, if they don’t make it this time it’ll be really disappointing.
But there’s no pressure on Neil or anything. The pressure always is that in the last 15 months is that they’ve resisted him moving on. West Brom came in for him, then Stoke. You just wonder sometimes if an offer came in from somewhere with more money available, that’s the risk I think. That’s the way it is at North End.
Who are the dangermen?
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Hide AdThey’ll play in a 4-3-2-1 type system, with two men in behind the main striker.
The top man is Daniel Johnson and he’s got 12 goals from attacking midfield. He’s a clever player and they do miss him when he’s out. He’s missed the last two so it’s not clear whether he’ll play.
Tom Barkhuizen played as a striker against Huddersfield on Saturday but usually plays as a winger and he’s a threat. And really those are where the goals are likely to come from.