Match Preview
Preston North End v Fulham
League Cup Round 03 24/25 at Deepdale
Tuesday 17th September KO: 19:45
Referee:
Robert Madley (West Yorkshire)
Live on Sky Sports+
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Fulham are set to face Championship side Preston North End at Deepdale on Tuesday evening, with Fulham aiming to continue on another successful Cup campain.
Fulham beat Birmingham City 2-0 in their second-round contest while Preston have defeated Sunderland and Harrogate Town to advance to this stage.
The Cottagers will be rather pleased with how their first five fixtures of the 2024-25 campaign have gone, losing just one match across all competitions so far.
Marco Silva's side, who finished 13th last year, began the new campaign with a narrow 1-0 defeat to Manchester United but have since secured a league win against Leicester City, an EFL Cup victory over Birmingham City, and drawn league matches against Ipswich Town and West Ham United.
With a challenging run ahead, including league clashes against Newcastle United, Manchester City and Aston Villa, Silva will be hoping for a convincing win against Preston to boost confidence and build momentum going into those tough fixtures.
Preston suffered a disappointing end to the 2023-24 campaign, falling away from the fight for the playoff places and into a 10th-placed finish after suffering losses in all of their last five league fixtures with an aggregate score of 11-0.
Despite that failure, Ryan Lowe, who had taken over in December 2021, remained in charge and led the side into the opening match of the 2024-25 season, which they lost 2-0 to Sheffield United.
The manager left the club by mutual consent following that defeat, with Mike Marsh taking charge of two games, winning one and losing one, before Paul Heckingbottom was announced as the new permanent boss.
Heckingbottom had an extremely positive start to life at Preston, winning his first two matches with a 6-0 aggregate score, but they have since lost 3-1 and drawn 1-1 in the next two outings.
Preston will be aiming to return to winning ways in the EFL Cup on Tuesday, though they will be going into the match as underdogs as they face Premier League side Fulham.
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Source Ellis Stevens at SportsMole