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Full Time After Extra Time This is a live match. Extra Time Half Time

Preston North End vs Cardiff City. Sky Bet Championship.

Deepdale.

Preston North End 1

  • D Johnson (73rd minute)

Cardiff City 3

  • J Ralls (69th minute)
  • N Mendez-Laing (82nd minute)
  • R Glatzel (91st minute)

Preston vs Cardiff preview: Championship clash live on Sky Sports Football

Watch live on Sky Sports Football from midday on Saturday; kick-off is at 12.30pm

Preston face Cardiff in the Sky Bet Championship on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Football.

Team news

Darnell Fisher could make his return for Preston when they host Cardiff in the Championship on Saturday. Fisher only made the bench for last weekend's draw with Luton after a lack of training but has come into consideration to start at Deepdale.

Alex Neil has no fresh injury concerns with Louis Moult and Tom Clarke both still sidelined. Club captain Clarke has played his final game for the club, with his contract expiring at the end of the month.

Cardiff manager Neil Harris may need to ask either Joe Bennett or Brad Smith to switch flanks after the departure of Jazz Richards left the club short of options at right-back. The young Dion Sanderson, on loan from Wolves, is the only recognised right-back in Harris' squad but the manager indicated both Bennett and Smith are capable of switching.

Richards has left the Bluebirds along with Omar Bogle and Matthew Connolly as their contracts expire. Josh Murphy missed the impressive win over Leeds last weekend, and the trip to Preston could come too soon for his return.

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Recent form

Preston were forced to settle for a point against struggling Luton in their first game back after the restart, while Cardiff pulled off the scalp of the weekend, beating title-chasing Leeds 2-0 thanks to goals from Junior Hoilett and Robert Glatzel.

What the managers said...

Preston's Alex Neil: "It will be different at home; that will be a new experience for us again. When you are at home, fans get behind you and we are very much a momentum-based team and a lot of that momentum is generated by the fans.

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"It is that sort of X-factor you need that gives your side that edge and when we have that edge, we perform at our best."

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Cardiff's Neil Harris: "There's nothing in the game. With eight games left a goal separates the two teams. I'm sure it will be a close encounter at the weekend. There's nothing between us in the table and we're two well-matched, physical teams that will work extremely hard.

"The result [against Leeds] speaks for itself. We put in a very strong, solid display against the league leaders and got the three points. We want to carry on building momentum. We've carried on where we left off before the break and we're thoroughly enjoying it."

Talking point: The race for the play-offs

It's a big weekend for these two sides in their quest to reach the play-offs. A win for Cardiff would see them move above their hosts and into the top six, while a win for Alex Neil's men would no doubt boost their bid heading into the final eight games of the season.

Neither has a particularly comprehensive run to the final day either, so victory in front of the cameras could be worth plenty.

Latest highlights

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Highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Luton and Preston

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Highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Cardiff and Leeds

Opta stats

Preston have conceded only one goal in their last six home league games against Cardiff (W4 D1 L1), keeping a clean sheet in their last three since a 1-0 defeat in April 2011.

Cardiff have failed to score in their last three league meetings with Preston (D1 L2) since a 2-0 victory in January 2017.

Preston haven't kept a clean sheet in their last 15 home Championship matches since winning 2-0 against Brentford last September.

Cardiff are looking to secure three consecutive Championship wins for the first time since December, having won their last two by a 2-0 scoreline.

Cardiff have the lowest average possession figure in the Championship this season (41.1%). They've had more possession than their opponents in just six of their 38 league matches so far.

Prutton's prediction

This is a huge game in the race for that sixth spot. Preston left the door open for the chasing pack by failing to beat Luton last Saturday, and Cardiff's win against Leeds got them right on their coattails.

Cardiff will be feeling full of confidence after that victory last Sunday, and it will be fascinating to see if Neil Harris goes all out for the win at Deepdale, or would happily take a draw away at a play-off rival. I think they could nick it.

David Prutton predicts: 1-2 (10/1 with Sky Bet)

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