Underwhelming Preston North End host a beleaguered Bristol City in the sole Friday night kick-off in the Championship. Both sides have performed far below par in the second tier to date, and the visitors succumbed to a 2-0 defeat in their own backyard to a Millwall outfit winless in 10 games last time out. Relatively new head coach Dean Holden needs to turn things around, even without nine first team names available. Despite their own woes, the Lilywhites are unlikely to be accommodating hosts. Read our preview here:

The spectrum of Sinclair

One of the brighter sparks in a season that's been defined by the avalanche of goals scored and conceded (the latter being the highest in the second tier at the time of writing) has been the stand-out showings of inside forward Scott Sinclair. The 31 year old, who seems to have been around forever, has been excellent since arriving on a permanent deal from Scottish giants Celtic in January, and has racked up seven goals in the league from out wide. His dribbling ability and pinpoint finishing helps his side in no small way, especially when hitting the opposition on the break. He could use some greater contributions in that regard from the central striker, who will most probably be Sean Maguire. The Irish international has never been prolific in a Preston shirt, however, and perhaps of more concern is just how porous the midfield and defence are behind him.

Need to prouder of O'Dowda

The Robins too have lacked a reliable goalscorer up top this campaign. Famara Diédhiou has mostly been used from the bench to add a bit more guile and muscle, and the previously reliable Chris Martin has just a single strike to his tally since joining the red half of the city. He is far from the only notable figure struggling to recapture his best form. Midfielder Callum O'Dowda, who was one of the Championship's very best in 2018/2019, has had to contend with spells on the sidelines since, and needs to stamp his influence on a side that is far too inconsistent right now to challenge for a play-off position.

Deepdale ducked

One thing is for certain: the encounter will be an open affair with plenty of chances created. That's never been an issue with either team, but preventing them has been much more difficult. All things being equal, the away side would have the advantage, possessing a much deeper squad. The problem is that many of them ae out for the foreseeable future, and it does go some way to explaining their current trials and tribulations, but not wholly. Alex Neil is a canny manager, and he'll instruct his double pivot to stick to the likes of O'Dowda like glue. Betfair are offering odds of 2.25 for the Lancashire outfit to pile on the misery.