PREVIEW: Sky Blues Host Preston North End This Weekend

City's seventh game in three weeks...

25 February 2022

The Sky Blues host Preston North End this Saturday at the Coventry Building Society Arena in the SkyBet Championship. Here is everything you need to know about our opponents.

Fact File

Name: Preston North End
Founded: 1880
Stadium: Deepdale
Capacity: 23,404
Nickname: The Lilywhites
Address: Sir Tom Finney Way, Preston, PR1 6RU
Pitch Size: 110 x 77 yards

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The Opposition

Preston currently occupy 13th spot in the Championship, four points adrift of the Sky Blues - with City also having two games in hand.

In their 17 away games this season, the Lilywhites have accumulated 22 points, winning six, drawing four, and losing seven.

Aston Villa loanee, Cameron Archer, arrived at Deepdale in January and he has got off to a flying start, with four goals in eight games.

Emil Riis Jakobsen is running away in the goal-scoring race, with 12 to his name. Ben Whiteman is joint second with Archer, both with four-a-piece.

Whiteman also leads the assists chart, topping the club with four.

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The Manager: Ryan Lowe

Ryan Lowe began his playing career in Liverpool’s academy, however an ankle break saw him sidelined for a couple of years, where he then joined Southport’s academy.

Spells with Liverpool-based sides Sandon Dock and Waterloo Dock followed, as well as a stint at Burscough, before Lowe moved into the Football League with Shrewsbury Town in 2000.

Striker by nature, Lowe then moved onto Chester City and Crewe Alexandra, thereafter, with the Railwaymen sending him on loan to Stockport County, before he departed the club.

Lowe returned to Chester before the beginning of the 2008/09 season, finishing the season as the club’s top goal-scorer (16), eventually ending his tenure with the club by mutual agreement.

His next playing stops included Bury, Sheffield Wednesday, MK Dons, and Tranmere Rovers, with the striker then heading to back to Bury for his second spell.

Between 2015 and 2017, Lowe played for Crewe- again the second stint there in his career- before finally hanging up his boots at Bury in 2018, in his third and final spell at the club.

An immediate step into management came after, with Lowe appointed Bury manager on a two-year-deal, in what faired to be a successful first gig in his managerial career.

Plymouth Argyle snapped up the Liverpudlian’s signature in 2019, where he guided them to a 3rd-placed finish and an immediate return to League One; however, Lowe resigned in December 2021, instantly joining Preston North End following his departure.

Last Six Games

Draw - Preston 0-0 Nottingham Forest (Sky Bet Championship)
Lost - Preston 2-3 Reading (Sky Bet Championship)
Won - Peterborough 0-1 Preston (Sky Bet Championship)
Draw - Preston 0-0 Huddersfield (Sky Bet Championship)
Won - Hull 0-1 Preston (Sky Bet Championship)
Draw - Millwall 0-0 Preston (Sky Bet Championship)

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Last Time We Met

Tyler Walker’s opening goal could not prevent defeat last time the Sky Blues met Preston.

Callum O’Hare teed up Walker on the stroke of half-time, giving the travelling City the lead at Deepdale.

The Lilywhites levelled the scoring just after the hour mark, courtesy of Patrick Bauer’s header, and the hosts doubled their tally moments later, when Emil Riss Jakobson struck sweetly to beat Simon Moore.

Sky Blues XI: Simon Moore (GK), Fankaty Dabo, Dom Hyam, Kyle McFadzean, Michael Rose, Ian Maatsen, Liam Kelly (C) (Ben Sheaf 74‘), Gustavo Hamer, Callum O'Hare (Jamie Allen 74‘), Tyler Walker, Viktor Gyökeres (Martyn Waghorn 74‘).

Unused Subs: Ben Wilson (GK), Jake Clarke-Salter, Todd Kane, Jordan Shipley.

Head-To-Head Record

Sky Blues wins - 10
Draws - 14
Preston wins - 19

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Club Connection: Tom Bayliss

Coventry academy graduate, Tom Bayliss, made his senior Sky Blues debut in November 2017 in a 2-1 EFL Trophy win against West Brom U23s.

Bayliss played his part in the remainder of that season, as City went onto win the League Two Play-off final at Wembley, in total, making 73 appearances in his Sky Blue career- scoring nine times and assisting seven.

The midfielder had a two year stay with the Sky Blues, moving to Preston North End before the 2019/20 season for an undisclosed fee.

So far in his tenure with the Lilywhites, Bayliss has made 21 appearances, registering one goal. Prior to the start of the 2021/22 season, the ex-Sky Blue joined Wigan Athletic on a season-long loan.

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Match Officials

Keith Stroud will take charge of his fifth Sky Blues game this season, when Preston travel to the Coventry Building Society Arena.

In the games Stroud has officiated for City in the 2021/22 campaign, the Sky Blues have won two, drawn one, and lost one- with five yellow cards being brandished by the 52-year-old.

Sam Lewis and Ian Cooper will work in tandem as the linesmen, with Neil Hair acting as fourth official.

Match Previews

Match Reports

REPORT: Sky Blues 1-1 Preston North End

A first senior goal for Fabio Tavares...

26 February 2022

Fabio Tavares' scored his first goal in a Sky Blues shirt to secure his side a late point against Preston North End.

After a quiet opening half, the game sparked into life in the final ten minutes.

Liam Lindsay and Fankaty Dabo were shown red cards with Daniel Johnson converting his penalty.

Second-half substitute Fabio Tavares announced his name to the Coventry faithful, picking out a fantastic strike into the top corner to grab a late point for the Sky Blues.

Todd Kane kick-started the chances for the Sky Blues, with a pair of darting crosses finding Viktor Gyökeres and Dom Hyam, respectively, with the duo’s headers sailing over the bar.

Following a dominant half-hour spell by City, the visitors broke for their first clear chance of the game, resulting in a finger-tip save from Simon Moore to prevent Ched Evans’ strike.

The first forty-five minute became very stop-start, with Preston hauling down Sky Blues players left, right, and centre, chancing their luck on a counter-attack, with another chance falling the way of Evans, only to be denied by Moore a second time.

HALF-TIME: Sky Blues 0-0 Preston North End

Impressive third and fourth saves followed for Moore, clawing the ball out of the bottom corner on two occasions at the beginning of the half, adding to the City keeper’s fine stops in the game.

Ian Maatsen came close to grabbing his second goal in as many games, but volleyed narrowly wide as the Sky Blues ramped up the pressure.

The Lilywhites stood up to the Sky Blues’ attacks and managed to stage a few of their own, but the initial save of Moore from Cameron Archer’s shot was brilliantly followed up by Jake Bidwell’s block to keep the clean sheet intact.

Preston were reduced to ten men with ten minutes to when Liam Lindsay was shown a second yellow for a cynical foul on Gyökeres.

The visitors were gifted a lifeline, however, moments later when Fankaty Dabo was given his marchng orders for bringing down Emil Riis Jakobsen in the box.

Daniel Johnson stepped up from six-yards and fired home to give Preston a late lead.

However, there was still one final twist in the tale, as academy striker Fabio Tavares saw his magnficent solo effort head for the top corner as the Coventry Building Society Arena errupted for the equaliser.

FULL-TIME: Sky Blues 1-1 Preston North End

SCORES: Daniel Johnson (89'), Fabio Tavares (90+8')

CARDS: Josh Earl (14’), Michael Rose (32’), Gustavo Hamer (69’), Ben Whiteman (74), Ched Evans (90')

RED CARDS: Liam Lindsay (84'), Fankaty Dabo (86')

ATTENDANCE: 19,743 (2594 away)

Sky Blues XI: Simon Moore (GK), Todd Kane (Fankaty Dabo 63’), Dom Hyam (C), Michael Rose, Jake Clarke-Salter, Ian Maatsen, Ben Sheaf, Gustavo Hamer, Callum O'Hare (Fabio Tavares 90'), Martyn Waghorn (Jake Bidwell 63’), Viktor Gyökeres.

Subs: Ben Wilson (GK), Kyle McFadzean, Jamie Allen, Jordan Shipley.

Preston XI: Daniel Iversen (GK), Brad Potts, Sepp van den Berg, Josh Earl (Emil Riis Jakobsen 74’), Liam Lindsay, Andrew Hughes, Ben Whiteman, Alan Browne (C), Daniel Johnson, Ched Evans (Ryan Ledson 90'), Cameron Archer (Bambo Diaby 90').

Unused Subs: Connor Ripley (GK), Alistair McCann, Joe Rafferty, Scott Sinclair.