Preston North End will be looking to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to five games tomorrow when they head to Bramall Lane to face Sheffield United in the Championship.

The Lilywhites picked up a point on their travels last Saturday in their clash with Bristol City.

As a result of this draw, Preston moved up to 13th in the Championship standings.

One of the players who was unable to feature for Frankie McAvoy's side at the weekend was Ched Evans who missed out on a place in the club's match-day squad due to a calf injury.

The forward has only made two appearances for Preston this season following a relatively impressive 2020/21 campaign in the Championship.

During the 21 league appearances that he made for the club in the previous term, Evans managed to score five goals whilst he also chipped in with two assists for his team-mates.

Ahead of tomorrow's game, McAvoy has admitted that the forward is set to miss the meeting with the Blades whilst Scott Sinclair will also be forced to watch on from the sidelines due to illness.

Meanwhile, the Preston boss has revealed that Matt Olosunde has now stepped up his recovery from his injury by taking to the grass.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference for Preston's showdown with United (as cited by the club's official Twitter account) about this aforementioned trio, McAvoy said: "We are still in the same [situation] as Saturday, Ched is getting there but he probably won't be ready for tomorrow night.

"Matt Olosunde is back out on the grass which is good progress and Scott Sinclair is still unwell at the moment."

Making reference to Evans, McAvoy added: "He's [Evans] been coming back with a phased return from Covid and he's taken a wee nick on his calf.

"Tomorrow will probably be too soon for him but we expect him back in training on Thursday with a view to him being ready on Saturday."

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The Verdict

Whilst Preston would have been wanting to call upon the likes of Sinclair and Evans for their trip to South Yorkshire, they will now need to look elsewhere for attacking inspiration.

After being denied by the woodwork on Saturday, Sean Maguire will be determined to net his first goal of the season for the Lilywhites on Tuesday.

As for Olosunde, it is imperative that Preston ease him back into action when he is fit enough to feature for the club in order to prevent him from suffering another injury setback.

If the Lilywhites are able to produce a positive performance against the Blades, they may be able to use the momentum gained from this game to push on in the Championship later this year.