Preston v Tottenham predictions: Favourites may need patient approach at Deepdale

Where to watch

BBC One, 6pm Saturday

Best bets

Draw-Tottenham double result
1pt 16-5 Betfair, Hills 

Liam Lindsay to be shown a card
2pts 100-30 Betfair, Paddy Power

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Team news

Preston
Tottenham loanee Troy Parrott is ineligible to face his parent club and on-loan Manchester City forward Liam Delap is cup-tied. Ben Whiteman, Emil Riis Jakobsen and Brad Potts are injured and Sean Maguire joined Coventry this week.

Tottenham
Antonio Conte is expected to shuffle his pack and Fraser Forster, Ryan Sessegnon and Oliver Skipp are among those hoping for a start. New signing Arnaut Danjuma is available but Bryan Gil is a doubt and Lucas Moura remains sidelined.

Match preview

Tottenham started the week with a much-needed Premier League victory at Fulham, where Harry Kane's winner took him level with the club's record scorer Jimmy Greaves on 266 goals.

Kane will be hoping to eclipse that mark on Saturday's FA Cup fourth-round trip to Championship side Preston but Tottenham's recent history in this competition is far from glorious.

Their last appearance in the FA Cup final came in 1991, when they beat Nottingham Forest, and in the last ten seasons Spurs have got past the fifth round only twice, losing in the semi-finals in 2016-17 and 2017-18.

Like Monday's win at Fulham, their third-round tie at home to League One Portsmouth ended in a 1-0 victory with Kane scoring the only goal and his 50th-minute strike was the only one of Tottenham's 18 attempts that was on target.

Antonio Conte's men have not made life easy for themselves this season and they may require a patient approach before breaking down Preston at Deepdale.

Tottenham had to come from behind to beat Bournemouth, Marseille and Leeds in their last three victories before the World Cup break and even their 4-0 win at Crystal Palace on January 4 was goalless at half-time.

They played out a goalless first 45 minutes against Portsmouth in the third round of the FA Cup, trailed Arsenal 2-0 at the break after a lacklustre start, and had to wait until first-half injury time for Kane's decisive effort at Craven Cottage.

Even when Spurs led 2-0 at half-time at Manchester City, going on to concede four times in the second half, their goals came in the 44th and 47th minutes so the draw-Tottenham double result appeals.

Preston may well treat the early exchanges with caution given the quality of the opposition and their chastening defeat to Norwich in their most recent home game. 

The Canaries were 3-0 up inside 28 minutes at Deepdale although North End beat Stoke, Huddersfield (in the third round of the cup) and Birmingham either side of that 4-0 rout.

Preston's attacking options are hampered by the ineligibility of Spurs loanee Troy Parrott and exciting Manchester City prospect Liam Delap, although they may be encouraged by the fact that a strong Tottenham team lost 2-0 at Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup in November.

Preston centre-back Liam Lindsay could have a tricky 90 minutes against Kane, Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski and the Scot is a juicy price to be shown a card, having picked up eight bookings in his last 18 appearances.

Key stat

Tottenham have been leading at half-time in only one of their last seven wins in all competitions.

Probable teams

Preston (3-5-2) Woodman; Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; Browne, McCann, Ledson, Johnson, Fernandez; Evans, Cannon
Subs Brady, Woodburn, Slater, Cunningham, Diaby, Bauer, Mawene

Tottenham (3-4-3) Forster; Tanganga, Sanchez, Davies; Doherty, Sarr, Skipp, Sessegnon; Kulusevski, Kane, Richarlison
Subs Dier, Romero, Hojbjerg, Bissouma, Son, Perisic, Danjuma

Inside info

Preston

Penalty taker Daniel Johnson
Assist ace Alvaro Fernandez
Set-piece aerial threat Ched Evans
Card magnet Liam Lindsay

Tottenham

Penalty taker Harry Kane
Assist ace Dejan Kulusevski
Set-piece aerial threat Harry Kane
Card magnet Ryan Sessegnon

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