Match Preview: Brighton go looking for first win at Preston in 112 years
If the Albion are to stretch their Carabao Cup adventure into the fourth round and give us a home tie with Manchester United to preview, then Graham Potter’s side will have to do something that no Brighton team before them has done – win at Preston North End.
The Seagulls first visited Deepdale in 1908 with a grand total of 16 visits following over the years. None of them have ended in victory and barely any of them have seen Brighton manage so much as a goal. It has been extremely fallow ground.
Now would be a good time to change that. The Carabao Cup offers a genuine chance for the Albion to go far in a competition at the same time as giving their fringe players vital minutes. A Wembley final and the possibility of European football in 2021-22 is a bloody big carrot at the end of it.
Potter seems to be taking the competition semi-seriously too. Against Portsmouth in the last round, he named a team of backup senior players rather than the Under 12s as he had done in the previous season’s exit to Aston Villa.
The result was a 4-0 win over Pompey and a performance that was thoroughly enjoyable to watch. There have not been many occasions in which you could say that about Brighton in the League Cup in the past.
More of the same at Deepdable, please.
Preston North End this season
Preston seem to be one of those teams that never get tipped to do much in a Championship season preview, but still end up making a bold bid to join Brighton in the Premier League which ultimately falls in the play offs or just shy of the top six.
Last season saw them finish ninth in the Championship, four points off qualifying for the end of season lottery. They began this season with an opening day defeat to Swansea City before picking up a creditable 2-2 draw at Norwich City at the weekend.
In terms of the League Cup, PNE eliminated Mansfield 4-0 in the first round and beat Wayne Rooney’s Derby County 2-1 in the second. Manager Alex Neil named quite a few first team players in the win over the Rams; if he sticks with that sort of selection policy for the Albion’s visit, then this should be a real test for the Albion’s stiffs.
Recent form
As already noted, Preston’s two victories from four this season have come in the Carabao Cup. Going back further, their Championship form post-lockdown has been pretty poor with just two wins from their final nine games once the season resumed in June.
That ultimately cost them their shot at the top six. Drawing away at Norwich gives grounds for optimism that Neil and his players have turned a corner and they will be looking to prove that point by pulling off an upset against Premier League opposition.
Brighton v Preston North End Head-to-Head
We gave you a sneak peak in opening to this match preview at just how ghastly Brighton & Hove Albion’s record against Preston is. No wins at Deepdale in 16 previous attempts is only just scratching the pretty disgusting surface.
There have been 33 matches between the clubs with the Albion winning seven. PNE have won 13 and there have been 13 draws. It is Brighton’s recent record against Preston that is a real cause for concern, however.
In the 16 games that have taken place since 1979, the Seagulls have failed to score against PNE in 12 of them. Only five players – Paul Moulden twice in 1992; Simon Rodger and Steve Sidwell in 2002; Glenn Murray and Sam Baldock in 2016 – have scored against Preston over the course of the past 41 years.
This will be the first time that Brighton and Preston have met in the League Cup. There have been five FA Cup clashes in the past with Brighton winning one, Preston two and two draws.
That Albion victory came in January 1908 in a first round second replay at neutral Stamford Bridge. It was an historic occasion for Brighton as Dick Wombwell (what a name) scored the only goal to give the Southern League Seagulls their first ever victory against opponents from the top division of the Football League.
Brighton & Hove Albion’s Head-to-Head record with Preston North End
Last six meetings between Brighton and Preston North End
• Preston 2-0 Brighton (Championship, 14/01/17)
• Brighton 2-2 Preston (Championship, 15/10/16)
• Preston 0-0 Brighton (Championship, 05/03/16)
• Brighton 0-0 Preston (Championship, 24/10/15)
• Brighton 0-0 Preston (Championship, 11/03/06)
• Preston 0-0 Brighton (Championship, 27/08/05)
The last six meetings section of our Preston v Brighton match preview looks almost like a binary code rather than a set of football results.
October 2016’s 2-2 draw at the Amex in the Albion’s promotion winning season remains the only time that Brighton have netted for themselves against PNE since 2002 when Jolly Rodger and a teenage Sidwell notched in a 2-2 draw at Deepdale.
The Albion’s only win since 1992 came in the opening few weeks of the 2004-05 season thanks to a Marlon Broomes own goal. Preston have otherwise swept Brighton away to the point where even scoring against Neil’s men could be seen as an achievement.
Team news
We suspect that Potter will go with the same sort of starting line up as he did for the victory over Portsmouth. Yves Bissouma’s three game suspension means that one of Dale Stephens or Davy Propper will replace him in the XI against Manchester United on Saturday; so one or perhaps both won’t feature at Preston.
Jayson Molumby may therefore get a chance in his favoured central midfield role, in which case Max Sanders could be the major beneficiary for a full debut.
Preston North End’s danger men
Scott Sinclair was an intriguing January arrival at PNE having scored goals galore in the Scottish Pub League with Celtic.
Four in 20 might be considered a disappointing return so far at Deepdale, but he has one in two so far in 2020-21 to suggest that he might be finding some form now he has nine months at the club and a decent pre-season under his belt. He is also engaged to Rosie Webster from Coronation Street, the lucky bugger.
Another to keep an eye on – if he plays – is Daniel Johnson, who scored 12 times from midfield in 2019-20. Johnson scored PNE’s 90th minute winner against Norwich in the last round.
The betting value for Preston North End v Brighton
If you have read the history section of our Preston v Brighton match preview, then you should know what is coming here. Both teams to score no is available at 11/10, which seem like very good odds given that there has been at least one clean sheet in 25 of the 33 meetings to date.
Anytime goalscorer markets are usually good for a Carabao Cup tie, especially if you can react before the layers when the teams are announced.
Alireza Jahanbakhsh is 16/5 for example to score. If the Albion are to net a rare goal against PNE, then you suspect it will be the Persian Prince who delivers it after his performance against Portsmouth topped the WAB Player Ratings.
An interesting subplot
The winners will go onto face Manchester United in the fourth round, setting up a tie with strong links to a certain David Beckham. DB7 had a spell on loan at Preston before his big breakthrough at United and it was at the Goldstone Ground where he made his debut for the Red Devils in a League Cup tie in 1992.
A good WeAreBrighton.com memory of Preston North End away
Deepdale may not have been a happy hunting ground, but Preston is one of those northern away days that does not get enough credit. Particularly for the pub which sells Snakebite in four pint jugs at 11am in the morning and has a big screen hooked up to a Nintendo Wii on which you can play Mario Kart.
A bad WeAreBrighton.com memory of Preston North End away
There are downsides to rattling through four pints of Snakebite before lunchtime. One member of the WeAreBrighton.com team went onto take a tumble outside Deepdale before the 0-0 draw there in 2016, ripped the knee of his jeans open and then spent most of the second half asleep in his seat. Which kind of sums up Preston away.
Preston North End’s most famous fan
They do not come any more famous than former WWE Intercontinental Champions Wade Barrett. It is a shame Bissouma won’t be travelling to Lancashire as the midfielder could have picked the brains of Barrett as to how to perfectly kick a person in the face following his red card at St James’ Park at the weekend.
Prediction
Even taking into account Brighton’s woeful record against Preston, Brighton should have enough to progress – providing Potter selects a half decent team. A win 1-0 for the Albion and a place in the history books as the first Seagulls side to win at Deepdale.
