It’s not easy right now for Ryan Lowe or any fan of Preston North End to really decipher what the club’s best XI is.

The former Plymouth boss had a flying start to his time at Deepdale when he first joined but upon starting the new campaign, he’s struggled for the same level of result. Defensively, his team have been excellent but with the goals beginning to fly in and the side struggling at the other end of the field, it has led to a slide down the table.

It means that Preston are now 15^th with just two wins from their opening ten fixtures – and after a 2-0 defeat to Sheffield United at the weekend, it’s back to the drawing board for Lowe.

 

 

His side have only bagged three goals during that run of games too – so it does beg the question, what even is North End’s best XI with everyone fit? Here then, is what could be the best team to go with, if sticking with the formation and with everyone fit.

 

 

There are some changes here to both personnel and positioning, that may or may not work but it could certainly get all of the side’s most creative players on the pitch at once. Alvaro Fernandez, the young wing-back on loan from Man United, has proven he can be a bright spark for PNE. He therefore needs to keep starting but the issue has been fitting him into the team when Robbie Brady has been relied upon for his deliveries and passing.

That could mean putting Fernandez into his favoured LWB slot and then adjusting accordingly by testing Brady out in a CAM role. He could play on the right flank instead, which may be more familiar to him, but it would perhaps be harsh on Brad Potts, who has adapted well to that role. Brady then could utilise his deliveries from behind the strikers by getting balls into them and still creating chances for the side, whilst allowing Fernandez to have that flank.

Jordan Storey, Liam Lindsay and Andrew Hughes may have conceded two goals at the weekend but it has been very out of character for them and they have otherwise been solid. None of the defence should therefore be dropped, although Bambo Diaby and Patrick Bauer are two players that are not bad options to have as backups.

In midfield, Ben Whiteman is arguably the heart of the team and a mainstay in the side, regardless of who plays alongside him. In this case, it should be Ali McCann, who like Fernandez has been one of the most creative and exciting talents for the club this year. He would be a more attacking midfield option alongside Whiteman but would put a shift in all around the field.

In terms of their strikers, it’s hard to still look past Emil Riis and Troy Parrott, even with both not firing regularly. When the backup options are Ched Evans and Sean Maguire – who scored a combined total of three goals between them last season – it would be hard to warrant bringing either into the eleven. Mikey O’Neill would be a good option to turn to instead but he is relatively unproven at this level – although he definitely deserves a chance. North End then might have to stick with what they have in this case, keeping two attacking strikers on the field which should increase their chances of goals and especially with Brady just behind them and Fernandez on the wing too.