FA Cup: Battle of the Lilywhites

Preston North End vs Tottenham Hotspur

FA Cup Royalty meets at Deepdale on Saturday when twice champions Preston North End entertain cup hopefuls Tottenham Hotspur in one of the most intriguing ties of the round.

Spurs will be wearing their away strip as their hosts play in white too, also known as the Lilywhites and with a proud tradition in West Lancashire.  Both teams come into the tie with very solid away wins, Spurs winning 1-0 at Fulham on Monday night, while Preston beat Birmingham City 2-1 in a Championship clash at St Andrews last Saturday. 

The FA Cup 2023 betting odds give Spurs a decent chance of silverware, third favourites alongside Liverpool at odds of 8.00 to lift the trophy, while PNE fans can back their side at 251.00! But this is no easy game for the top flight side and is one of the potential upsets of the fourth round.

Talking Points

Delap’s chance to shine

Manchester City starlet Liam Delap has just joined Preston on loan for the remainder of the campaign and he will be keen to impress against a Premier League club, having made his debut for PNE last week. The 19-year-old striker is highly thought of at the Etihad and has already made two senior appearances for the Sky Blues. He went on loan to Stoke City at the start of this campaign but, in a struggling side, he scored just three goals and his parent club have given Preston his services for the remainder of the campaign.

He’s a lively customer with plenty of confidence and one opponent the Spurs defence will need to watch closely. Another big name at the club, former Burnley winger Robbie Brady, had a superb game against Birmingham, teeing up 27-year-old skipper Alan Browne for Preston’s winner and he also put in a dangerous cross which led to his side’s opener, driven home by Ryan Ledson.

The Preston defence has been one of the most effective in the Championship this term and defender Liam Lindsay is looking forward to coming up against the likes of Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son. It’s a big day for the Preston players and they will be backed by a passionate crowd at Deepdale.

Kane on the brink

Most of the home side will have picked out Harry Kane as the player they want to pit themselves against, and he is ready to write some more history if he can score in this FA Cup tie. The England skipper equalled the legendary Jimmy Greaves’ tally of 266 with a clinical finish on the stroke of half time and one more goal will make him Tottenham’s most prolific striker of all time.

Spurs fans should be mightily grateful that Kane has stayed with them throughout his career as he would surely have won plenty of silverware if he had moved elsewhere. There will be plenty of speculation again this summer over his future but Kane, who came so close to earning a league winners medal in 2016, may think the FA Cup gives him a great chance of finally winning something with the club he loves.

The competition may open up nicely for the London Lilywhites as Arsenal meet Manchester City on Friday night, while Liverpool have a really tough away game against high flying Brighton and Hove Albion and Chelsea and Newcastle have already fallen by the wayside.    

If the other FA Cup 2023 results go Tottenham’s way then this could finally be their year, but first they must see off Proud Preston.

History

Founder members of the football league, Preston won the inaugural league title and FA Cup in 1989 without losing a single game, which gave them the title of ‘The Invincibles’, well over a century before Arsenal went unbeaten through an entire Premier League campaign, in 2004. PNE won the league again in 1890 and then won their second FA Cup in the 1938 final with a victory over Huddersfield Town.    

Spurs are also twice winners of the English top flight, the last time in 1961, but they have won the FA Cup on eight occasions, as recently as 1991, though their silverware starved fans have not tasted success since a League Cup triumph in 2008. 

The two teams last met in 2009 in the League Cup third round when Spurs had the upper hand by a 5-1 margin.

And in terms of recent form there is nothing to choose between them, each registering three wins and three defeats from the last six games.  

Betting Tip

Spurs boss Antonio Conte has been under increasing pressure, but the win over the Cottagers has eased the situation a little and, at SBOTOP odds of 1.31, it will be a major surprise if the Londoners fail to beat their tier two opponents. Meanwhile Preston can be backed at 7.14 to win in 90 minutes or 4.55 to draw, with the double chance (PNE or Draw) at a price of 2.85.

I think Spurs will come through, but their hosts will be tough to break down and I can see a narrow away victory in a hard fought match.  

 

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