Match Preview | Cardiff City vs. Preston North End
The Bluebirds host Preston North End at Cardiff City Stadium on Wednesday evening.
The fixture will take place on December 11th, with a kick off time of 7:45pm.
OPPOSITION FOCUS | IN THE DUGOUT
Preston North End’s manager is Paul Heckingbottom, who was appointed in August this year.
Heckingbottom started his managerial career in charge of Barnsley, guiding the Tykes to promotion to the Championship and winning the Football League Trophy.
He then went on to join Leeds United in February 2018, where he finished in 13th place in the Championship before being dismissed that summer.
Heckingbottom then took a role at Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership. Hibs finished in fifth position, but after after only winning one of their first eleven league matches in the 2019/20 season, he was dismissed from his role.
The Barnsley-born coach then took a role as Sheffield United’s U23s manager, before being appointed First Team coach in November 2021. He gained promotion to the Premier League with the Blades in 2023 but was sacked later that year with Sheffield United sitting at the bottom of the Premier League.
Since taking over at Deepdale, Heckingbottom has a win percentage of 17.65%.
OPPOSITION FOCUS | SEASON SO FAR
Our midweek visitors head into the game sat in 17th position in the Sky Bet Championship.
The Lilywhites have struggled on the road this campaign, with the side drawing four and losing two of their six fixtures on the road.
Their home form has been much better, recording 14 points in ten games at Deepdale.
Last time out, North End drew 1-1 away from home to Sheffield Wednesday. An early goal from Emil Riis Jakobsen was enough to secure a point on their travels.
OPPOSITION FOCUS | KEY PLAYER
Preston North End’s standout player this campaign has been Emil Riis Jakobsen.
Since joining the club back in 2020, he has gone onto make 157 appearances, netting 39 times in Lancashire.
The Danish striker has had a good campaign to date, finding the back of net five times and assisting twice in 19 Championship appearances.
Jakobsen increased his goal scoring tally for the season after scoring against Sheffield Wednesday this past weekend.
CITY FLASHBACK | PREVIOUS MEETING
The Bluebirds hosted Preston North End on 20th February, 2021 at Cardiff City Stadium.
Kieffer Moore opened the scoring, firing home from the spot in the first half.
Second half strikes from Josh Murphy, Marlon Pack and Mark Harris put the game to bed as City comfortably won the game 4-0.
The key moment of the game came in the second half when City keeper Dillon Phillips saved two penalties in two minutes to deny the visitors a chance to get back into the game.