Preview: Preston North End (A)

Slavisa Jokanovic has started the season with 2 wins out of 2 so far.

Fulham kicked off their season last week in the best possible way. They put in a very impressive performance against a Newcastle side comfortably touted as favourites (which I wrote about here) and then managed a win away at Leyton Orient in the EFL Cup using an XI largely consisting of youngsters. They now head north for their first away game of the season at Preston North End.

I don’t anticipate much changes from the XI that played against Newcastle, although I do think we will see Cauley Woodrow start up front as the lone striker in the place of Matt Smith. Woodrow lacks consistency and finishing ability (on the evidence of last season) but certainly showed improvement against a (lacklustre) Leyton Orient side.

There have been reports that Marcus Bettinelli may regain his place in the XI but I think it’d be very much harsh on Button to drop him after an assured performance against Newcastle. Bettinelli needs to regain his spot after a last season’s injury and inconsistency filled nightmare for the goalkeeper and Button is much better competition than Andy Lonergan. Button deserves the start and should be pencilled in as the starter for the immediate future.

Team Prediction: Button; Odoi, Kalas, Madl, Malone; McDonald, Tunnicliffe; Cairney, Aluko, Ayite; Woodrow. Subs: Bettinelli, Stearman, Ream, Parker, LVC, Smith, Edun (Jozabed if he was registered in time?)

These next couple of weeks show a very favourable schedule for Fulham and if the Whites want to be considered serious contenders for Top 6, a win or two away from home wouldn’t go amiss. Both Preston and Leeds are teams that didn’t look particularly great on the opening weekend, which is definitely motivation for Fulham that they can attempt to snag points away from Craven Cottage. It will be no walk in the park, mind you, however (it never is with Fulham). Cardiff at home is also a very much winnable game for the Whites.

A quick look at the Opposition:

Preston suffered a 1–0 defeat to Reading at the Madejski stadium last Friday (in which many stated they were largely outclassed by Jaap Stam’s Reading team) but scored a last minute winner by Eoin Doyle in the EFL Cup against Hartlepool. They’ve made some interesting signings over the summer, the two most high profile being Anders Lindegaard and Ben Pringle. It’ll be interesting to see how Pringle fares, given how he only particularly showed up for Fulham last season against QPR and Rotherham, a rival and his ex team.

Preston had a largely “safe and sound” season last year on their return to the Championship. Although they conceded 45 goals (tied 6th with Sheffield Wednesday and 1st out of those not in the playoffs), they only scored 45 as well (2nd behind Nottingham Forest, excluding the 3 relegated sides). On balance, it doesn’t appear as if Simon Grayson has done much to rectify this scoring problem. They’ll be relying on Jermaine Beckford (ugh), Eoin Doyle and Joe Garner to get goals for them, a front line that the Fulham defence *should* (touch wood) find easier to deal with than Newcastle last Friday. Preston will be a tough defence to break down, having 2 seasoned Championship defenders in Bailey Wright and Tom Clarke, but it’s definitely possible for the likes of Cairney and Co can break down.

Prediction: 2–0 Fulham. Aluko, Ayite.

Some quick-fire thoughts from me:

Jozabed is a really good (and smart) signing. I’m not sure where he will play exactly, whether that’s behind the striker or next to McDonald in the midfield (the Frank Lampard role, perhaps?). But for £4mil, for a player that scored 10 goals in La Liga for a relegated side, it’s a very impressive deal for the club. La Liga is probably the toughest league in the world and if you can score there, then you’re onto something. I’m really looking forward to see how Jozabed features.
Out of all the youth players to feature on Tuesday, I liked Dennis Adineran the most. He’s got the real look of a proper defensive midfielder who can sit in front of the defence the whole of the game and be very comfortable. His goal was a good header as well. Ryan Sessegnon is very talented but needs to work on his defending and back-tracking.
Fulham still haven’t sorted out their striking issues, with James Wilson being the latest figure linked to join the club. I’m not opposed to a loan signing, but permanent (given the cash reserves we should have from the McCormack sale) would be much more preferable *cough* Sebastien Haller *cough*.