Sky Blues On The Road - Preston North End

In the corresponding fixture last season, City drew 1-1 at top of the table Preston. Dele Adebola equalised late on. This season, the Sky Blues won 2-1 with a stunning goal from Michael Doyle.

Deepadle is not a happy hunting ground for the Sky Blues, who have never won a league game there. The only two victoriies were both in cup. The last win was in a League Cup tie in 2000 with an FA Cup win in January 1910.

City are 19th in the Championship with Preston in 21st place.
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THE MATCH OFFICIALS
The referee is Mike.Pike with his assistants D.A.McCallum and D.Unsworth . The fourth offiical is P.P.Davies.

Carlisle based Mike Pike has been in charge of a City game v Preston before. It was on April Fools Day in 2006 when the Football League decided to appoint all three match officials whose surnames were types of fish. City lost 1-0 on that day.

This season, Mr Pike has been in charge of sixteen games, issuing 31 yellow cards and one red. His last game was West Brom 2-1 win over Burnley last Saturday.
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TRAVEL
Coach
Adult: £20, Junior/Senior: £17, Adult (Member):£15, Junior/Senior (Member): 10, Disabled: £10

Coaches depart the Ricoh Arena at 11.30am

By Car
From North, South and East: Exit M6 at junction 31. At the roundabout take the first exit (s/p Preston A59) onto the A59. At mini-roundabout after 1.0 miles, by the Hesketh Arms, take the second exit (s/p Ring road, Blackpool A583, Football Ground) onto the Blackpool Road A5085. Carry straight on for 1.2 miles, then filter left before the lights (s/p Town Centre, Football Ground) into Sir Tom Finney Way. The ground is on the left-hand-side.

From the Railway Station
It is about 1.6 miles from the station to Deepdale. If you catch a taxi from outside the station it will cost approximately £5. You should come out of the station and turn left in front of the Fishergate Centre, passing The Railway pub. Turn right at the T-junction. The road forks left and becomes Corporation Street, which you should ignore. Instead walk straight down Fishergate - the main shopping thoroughfare - After 0.75 miles the road becomes Church Street - with the Parish church on your right-hand-side. Carry on until you reach the junction with the A6. Cross over the road, the prison will be on your right-hand-side and a pub on the left, called the County Arms. Turn left so The 'Arms' is now on your right - this is Deepdale Road. The Ground is on the right-hand-side after 0.75 miles.

By Bus: All buses from the train station go to the bus station. From there, numbers 5, 6 and 19 run a long Deepdale Road. The number 19 is the most frequent, running every five minutes or so. It will cost approximately 80 pence to get to the ground from the bus station but have plenty of change because the bus drivers ask for the exact money.

There is currently no official club parking for away supporters, however, local schools such as Moor Park High School and Deepdale Primary School offer parking for around £5.
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TEAM NEWS
Robbie Simpson could well start up front with Leon Best for City. Marcus Hall will be back in the squad after feeling no effects from playing for 62 minutes for the reserves in mid-week.

Preston boss Alan Irvine has signed Polish keeper Grzegorz Szamoltuski on a six month deal and he will go into the squad. Billy Jones could start and Youl Mawene, Chris Brown and Chris Sedgwick are expected to return after suspension.