Preston North End host Aston Villa in the FA Cup quarter-finals this weekend
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Updated 07:57, 29 Mar 2025
Paul Heckingbottom
Paul Heckingbottom(Image: Getty Images)
Preston will be without at least six players for their FA Cup quarter-final against Aston Villa on Sunday.
The Lilywhites are dealing with a mixture of injuries, suspensions, and ineligible players, including Villa right-back Kaine Kesler-Hayden.
Manager Paul Heckingbottom will be forced to make three changes from the side that beat Portsmouth before the March international break and four from the starting XI that faced Burnley in the fifth round of the FA Cup earlier this month.
Brad Potts and Ali McCann are both injured, while Scotland international Ryan Porteous is cup-tied, and Kesler-Hayden cannot face his parent club. Meanwhile, Ryan Ledson and Sam Greenwood are suspended for the weekend.
“Pottsy is out,” said Heckingbottom. “He’s going to be out for quite a while. I’m hoping we can get him back before the end of the season and give him some game time. He’s chomping at the bit, but yeah, you won’t be seeing him in a game for a while.
“Jordan is closer than Ali. Yeah, Ali will still be a while away. It’s just frustrating with these sorts of cup runs. When you think about the League Cup, then the FA Cup, and then the FA Cup game that got cancelled, it has pushed everything back.
“In the short term, we’re focused on this game and being short on numbers. But we’ve got five games in less than two weeks, and with such a quick turnaround, we’ll be missing these players for those games as well.
“That’s the problem—it just comes with the territory, I’m afraid. They’ll miss this one, which is frustrating, but we need them back as quickly as possible for the important run-in games.”
Brentford loanee Jayden Meghoma is said to be fine despite withdrawing from the England Under-19 squad as a precaution due to a minor ankle issue.
Milutin Osmajic is also in contention to face Villa after overcoming a hip problem.
“Yeah, he’s been back training,” Heckingbottom confirmed. “Obviously, he missed his international games as well. With the hip injury, we got him to see a surgeon early in the week. Fortunately, things have begun to settle down, which is good, and he’s trained the last two days.”
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