please log in to view this image It's a Saturday afternoon, it's 3 pm and its a team we rarely play Bristol City Doesn't seem two minutes since the miracle of Ashton Gate can't see it being as warm as it was gthat Saturday https://www.bcfc.co.uk/ MANAGER Gerhard Struber (born 24 January 1977) is an Austrian professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of EFL Championship club Bristol City.[2] please log in to view this image FORM GUIDE please log in to view this image MYSTIC MACS FORM GUIDE PNE 12 BRIZZLE 11 Did watch their hapless display last Sunday against Oxford, awful at the back and our ex Riis had a shocker NEWBIES AND HOT SHOTS please log in to view this image T'OTHER GAMES please log in to view this image Team News Brad Potts has stepped up his return by taking part in full training on Thursday, but manager Paul Heckingbottom said he'll look to give the midfielder minutes in reserve and U21 matches before he comes into contention. Lewis Gibson has recovered from the neck injury which forced him off in the win over Derby County and he'll be available this weekend. There are no fresh injury concerns, although Jordan Thompson, Robbie Brady and Will Keane are still ruled out. The Visitors After making it into the top six last season, Bristol City saw change at the top as Liam Manning departed and in came former Barnsley and New York Red Bulls boss Gerhard Struber. The Austrian has enjoyed a positive start to life at Ashton Gate, accumulating 11 points from their opening six league matches, sitting third in the table going into the weekend’s round of fixtures. Anis Mehmeti has been the Robins’ main source of goals so far this season, while former North End striker Emil Riis has netted three for his new club. Match Officials Referee: Bobby Madley Assistant Referees: Emily Carney and Carl Fitch-Jackson Fourth Official: Zac Kennard-Kettle Experienced official Bobby Madley will take charge of Saturday’s match. It’ll be the first time he’s refereed PNE since New Year’s Day, while his previous visit to Deepdale was the remarkable 17-16 penalty shootout victory over Fulham last September. So far this season, Madley has shown 21 yellow cards and one red in five matches. Madley, a woman and the off spring of Trevor Kettle, may the Lord have mercy on our souls
Preston North End extended the unbeaten home start to the season at Deepdale with a goalless draw against Bristol City. PNE’s clearest opening of the day fell for Milutin Osmajić, who was let down by a heavy touch, while Anis Mehmeti missed the target for the visitors from a one-on-one situation in the second half. In a meeting between two of the top six, both sides had penalty appeals waved away inside the opening four minutes, as former North Ender Emil Riis went down after colliding with Daniel Iversen, while Osmajić took a tumble in the box at the other end. Iversen had to come up with a few saves in the early stages at Deepdale, denying Rob Atkinson, Mark Sykes and most notably Mehmeti’s low strike, which the Dane tipped round the post. PNE’s first real opportunity of the day came in the 20th minute and it was a huge one for Osmajić. A quick counter saw Lewis Dobbin break and find the Montenegrin, but the striker’s heavy touch one-on-one took the ball through to goalkeeper Radek Vitek. Then, less than a minute later, Dobbin was involved again as he found last weekend’s match-winner Alfie Devine whose effort was blocked by a Bristol City man. Lewis Gibson was next to try his luck in a positive spell for North End, but the defender had back-to-back left-footed strikes kept out by Vitek. Sadly for Paul Heckingbottom, he was forced into the first change of the day ten minutes before the break as Pol Valentín appeared to pick up a muscle injury, and Iversen made two further saves prior to the interval to thwart Scott Twine and Jason Knight. The opening stages of the second half were just as tight as the first 45, until the 59th minute when Mehmeti had a huge chance to break the deadlock. Ross McCrorie sent the Robins’ top scorer through on goal and with only Iversen to beat, he dragged his effort wide. Shortly after that, Devine sent a searching ball over the top of the visiting defence and it bounced awkwardly into the path of Osmajić, who couldn’t quite find the target with his poke goalwards. Chances were few and far between from that point with neither side really able to create any clearcut openings, until the final minute of five added when Iversen produced an outstanding save to ensure PNE took a point. The ball broke kindly for Mehmeti on the edge of the box and he sat a defender down before looking destined to snatch the win late on, but the goalkeeper had other ideas and came up with a simply incredible stop.
