Preston North End vs Scunthorpe United preview - Duo return to Preston fold

Posted Friday, February 20, 2015 by PA

Sam Johnstone and Daniel Johnson return to the fold when Preston entertain Scunthorpe at Deepdale.

Both goalkeeper Johnstone and midfielder Johnson were cup-tied on Monday night as North End went down 3-1 to Barclays Premier League giants Manchester United in the FA Cup fifth round.

Striker Jordan Hugill (knee) played 90 minutes in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Tuesday as he steps up his recovery from injury, while winger Andy Little (groin) also featured for an hour in that fixture.

Manager Simon Grayson expects to have Jermaine Beckford back training soon too, although he needs to work on his fitness having been laid low by an ear infection.

Gary McSheffrey is back from suspension for Scunthorpe but faces a fight to reclaim his place in the starting line-up.

The experienced forward sat out the last two games after picking up his 10th yellow card of the season against old club Coventry and watched on as the Iron picked up back-to-back wins.

Manager Mark Robins has no fresh injury concerns ahead of the trip to Deepdale but could yet make changes with the fixtures coming thick and fast.

McSheffrey, Isaiah Osbourne and Andrew Boyce are among Robins' options as he aims to close the five-point gap to the play-offs.