Preview: Preston North End vs. Swansea City - prediction, team news, lineups

Preston North End and Swansea City will each be looking to maintain their winning runs when they meet at Deepdale on Saturday afternoon.

Both sides have won back-to-back games in all competitions, though Swansea find themselves a point better off than their opponents in the Championship table.

Match preview

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Swansea initially made a slow start to life under new boss Russell Martin, who was brought in as Steve Cooper's successor, as they took just one point from their first three games.

However, they battled to a 1-0 win over Bristol City last time out in the league through Joel Piroe's third goal in four matches since arriving in South Wales.

The Swans followed that up with an emphatic 4-1 win over Plymouth Argyle in the EFL Cup on Tuesday to set up a third-round tie with Brighton & Hove Albion.

With momentum finally on his side, Martin will now be looking to make it back-to-back wins in the league for Swansea for only the second time since the start of March.

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Preston are also in better shape now than a couple of weeks ago as they too followed up victory in the league with progression in the EFL Cup this week.

The Lilywhites had a Patrick Bauer goal to thank for their slim 1-0 win over Peterborough United, picking up their first points of the season at the fourth attempt.

North End rallied to beat a stubborn Morecambe side 4-2 in their midweek cup tie and now have a winnable home match with Cheltenham Town next up in the competition.

The league is the only thing in Frankie McAvoy's thoughts right now, though, and Preston have a good record on home soil ahead of this visit of Swansea.

They have won three of their last four league games at Deepdale, after winning just one of the previous 10, and three more points here would likely lift Preston into the top half.

Team News

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Both sides rotated for their cup ties in the week, and certain fringe players made the most of their opportunities to impress.

Emil Riis Jakobsen was named among the subs against Peterborough but scored twice and assisted another in the win against Morecambe, possibly doing enough to retain his place.

Preston boss McAvoy will be without midfielder Alan Browne, however, as he is self-isolating after coming into close contact with a coronavirus case. Izzy Brown will also miss out.

As for Swansea, they used their tie with Plymouth as a chance to give Ryan Bennett his first minutes of the season, and the defender is in line to start again on Saturday.

Morgan Whittaker scored a hat-trick in that match and will fancy his chances of a start here, though that will not be at the expense of in-form striker Piroe.

Liam Walsh, Korey Smith and Connor Roberts are all sidelined for the Welsh side.

Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Iversen; Hughes, Bauer, Storey; Van den Berg, Whiteman, Ledson, Earl; Johnson; Jakobsen, Sinclair

Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Benda; Latibeaudiere, Bennett, Cabango; Laird, Grimes, Fulton, Bidwell; Paterson, Whittaker; Piroe

We say: Preston North End 1-1 Swansea City

Both sides have given their campaigns a lift off over the past week and will be eager to keep that momentum going.

Both league meetings between Preston and Swansea last season were victories for the away side, but we are backing this one to finish in a score draw.