Hull City v Preston

Last updated : 11 February 2011 By BBC Sport

Preston defender Conor McLaughlin suffered a fractured fibula and a dislocated ankle against Bristol City and will be out for several months.

On-loan Blackburn midfielder Amine Linganzi remains sidelined with a groin injury, as does striker Iain Hume with a hamstring strain.

MATCH PREVIEW

Phil Brown guided Hull City into the top flight for the first time in their history but returns to his former club with an even bigger challenge on his hands: keeping bottom side Preston in the Championship.

Preston have taken only two points out of 27 and Brown is still looking for his first victory since taking over as boss at North End, who are yet to win at the KC Stadium and have not won an away match against the Tigers for 19 years.

Their defensive shortcomings have been evident all season. The Lancashire side have conceded 53 league goals - more than any other second-tier team - have kept only three clean sheets, and are the only team in the division yet to keep a clean sheet away from home.

And they will face a striker in top form in Matty Fryatt, who scored a hat-trick against Scunthorpe last time out, has netted six goals in seven matches for the Yorkshire club and is one goal away from the 100th of his career. The win against Scunthorpe took City back into the top half of the table and stretched their unbeaten run to six games.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

• This is the 50th league meeting of these clubs. Preston have won 23 and Hull 15 of the previous 49.

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• A win for Hull would complete the club's first league double over Preston since the 1929/30 season.

Hull City

• Hull have lost only one of their last 15 league matches.

• They have failed to score in seven of their 15 home league games this term.

• No club has fielded more players in Championship matches than the Tigers, who have used 34.

• All but two of their 12 wins have been against teams currently in the bottom half of the table.

Preston

• Preston have gone seven league games without a win.

• They have dropped 21 Championship points from winning positions this season, and lost five matches in which they were ahead.

• Ian Ashbee, Wayne Brown and Leon Cort could all play against their former club.

Source: BBC Sport

Source: BBC Sport