| 2025–26 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | Wordon Limited | |||
| Chairman | Craig Hemmings (until 13 October) Ian Penrose (From 13 October) | |||
| Manager | Paul Heckingbottom | |||
| Stadium | Deepdale | |||
| Championship | 7th | |||
| EFL Cup | Second round | |||
| Top goalscorer | League:Lewis Dobbin (6) All: Lewis Dobbin (7) | |||
← 2024–25 2026–27 → | ||||
The2025–26 season is the 146th season in the history ofPreston North End Football Club and their eleventh consecutive season in theChampionship. In addition to thedomestic league, the club would also participate in theFA Cup, and theEFL Cup.
| Date | Pos. | Player | From | Fee | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 July 2025[a] | GK | Free | [1] | ||
| 1 July 2025[b] | LB | [2] | |||
| 1 July 2025[c] | CM | [3] | |||
| 1 July 2025[d] | RB | [4] | |||
| 5 July 2025 | RB | Undisclosed | [5] | ||
| 22 July 2025 | CF | Free | [6] | ||
| GK | Undisclosed | [7] | |||
| 25 July 2025 | LB | Free | [8] | ||
| 31 October 2025 | LB | [9] | |||
| 2 February 2026 | LW | £2,500,000 | [10][11] | ||
| CAM | £1,000,000 | [12][13] |
| Date | Pos. | Player | To | Fee | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 June 2025 | CM | Undisclosed | [14] | ||
| 1 July 2025[a] | CF | [15] | |||
| 9 July 2025 | CB | [16] | |||
| 29 August 2025 | LW | [17] | |||
| 12 January 2026 | CM | [18] | |||
| 2 February 2026 | CAM | €1,500,000 | [19][20] |
| Date | Pos. | Player | From | Date until | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 July 2025[a] | CF | 31 May 2026 | [21] | ||
| 8 August 2025 | CAM | 31 May 2026[b] | [22] | ||
| 22 August 2025 | LW | 31 May 2026 | [23] | ||
| 1 September 2025 | CM | 1 January 2026[c] | [24][25] | ||
| 29 January 2026 | CF | 31 May 2026 | [26] |
| Date | Pos. | Player | To | Date until | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 July 2025 | CM | 30 November 2025 | [27] | ||
| 8 August 2025 | GK | 9 September 2025 | [28] | ||
| 14 November 2025 | CF | 25 April 2026[a] | [29][30][31] | ||
| 14 January 2026 | CF | 31 May 2026 | [32] | ||
| 23 January 2026 | CAM | 21 February 2026 | [33] | ||
| 29 January 2026 | LB | 28 February 2026 | [34] | ||
| 30 January 2026 | CF | 31 May 2026 | [35] | ||
| 2 February 2026 | CM | [36] | |||
| 11 February 2026 | CF | 11 March 2026 | [37] | ||
| 12 February 2026 | LB | 12 March 2026 | [38] | ||
| CB | [38] | ||||
| 13 February 2026 | GK | 25 April 2026 | [39] |
| Date | Pos. | Player | Subsequent club | Join date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 June 2025 | CM | 1 July 2025 | [40][41] | ||
| CF | [42] | ||||
| GK | [43] | ||||
| CB | 2 July 2025 | [44] | |||
| LB | 4 July 2025 | [45] | |||
| CF | 25 July 2025 | [46][47] | |||
| CM | [48][49] | ||||
| CB | 20 August 2025 | [48][50] |
| Date | Pos. | Player | Contract until | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 June 2025 | LB | 30 June 2027[a] | [51] | |
| 11 August 2025 | CAM | 30 June 2028[a] | [52] | |
| 3 September 2025 | GK | [53] | ||
| 16 October 2025 | CM | 30 June 2029 | [54] | |
| 31 December 2025 | LB | 30 June 2026 | [55] |
In June, Preston North End announced pre-season friendlies againstGetafe, during a training camp inValencia,Liverpool,Bamber Bridge,Chorley andBolton Wanderers.[56][57][58]
Win Draw Loss Fixtures
| 8 July 2025Friendly | Bamber Bridge | 2–1 | Preston North End XI | Bamber Bridge |
| 19:00BST |
| Report |
| Stadium:SFC Stadium Attendance: 1,021 |
| 9 July 2025Friendly | Chorley | 0–1 | Preston North End | Chorley |
| 19:30BST | Report |
| Stadium:Victory Park Attendance: 1,982 |
| 13 July 2025Friendly | Preston North End | 1-3 | Liverpool | Preston |
| 15:00BST | Stadium:Deepdale |
| 18 July 2025Friendly | Getafe | 0–0 | Preston North End | Valencia, Spain |
| 18:00CEST | Report | Stadium:Oliva Nova Sports Center |
| 22 July 2025Friendly | Preston North End | 0–2 | Tranmere Rovers | Euxton |
| 15:00BST | Report | Stadium:Preston North End Training Ground Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors) |
| 26 July 2025Friendly | Bolton Wanderers | 2–0 | Preston North End | Horwich |
| 15:00BST |
| Report | Stadium:Toughsheet Community Stadium |
| 2 August 2025Friendly | Manchester City | 1–0 | Preston North End | Bradford-with-Beswick |
| 13:00BST | Report | Stadium:City Football Academy Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors) |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Championship | 9 August 2025 | Matchday 1 | 30 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 37 | 34 | +3 | 036.67 | ||
| FA Cup | 9 January 2026 | 9 January 2026 | Third round | Third round | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 000.00 |
| EFL Cup | 12 August 2025 | 26 August 2025 | First round | Second round | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | +0 | 050.00 |
| Total | 33 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 40 | 38 | +2 | 036.36 | ||||
Last updated: 31 January 2026
Source:Soccerway
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Hull City | 31 | 16 | 6 | 9 | 50 | 43 | +7 | 54 | Qualification for theChampionship play-offs |
| 6 | Derby County | 32 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 47 | 39 | +8 | 48 | |
| 7 | Preston North End | 32 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 40 | 36 | +4 | 48 | |
| 8 | Wrexham | 31 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 44 | 39 | +5 | 47 | |
| 9 | Bristol City | 31 | 13 | 7 | 11 | 43 | 38 | +5 | 46 |
| Overall | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| 31 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 38 | 34 | +4 | 47 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 20 | 16 | +4 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 18 | 18 | 0 |
Last updated: 7 February 2026.
Source:Soccerway
| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ground | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A |
| Result | D | W | W | L | D | W | D | D | W | L | L | W | W | W | D | L | D | W | D | D | W | D | D | L | W | W | L | L | L | D | W | ||||||
| Position | 11 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 7 | ||||||
| Points | 1 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 37 | 40 | 43 | 43 | 43 | 43 | 44 | 47 |
On 26 June, theChampionship fixtures were announced, with Preston travelling toQueens Park Rangers on the opening weekend.[60]
Win Draw Loss Fixtures
| 9 August 20251 | Queens Park Rangers | 1–1 | Preston North End | Shepherd's Bush |
| 15:00BST | Report | Stadium:Loftus Road Attendance: 16,804(1,322 PNE fans) Referee:Oliver Langford |
| 16 August 20252 | Preston North End | 2–1 | Leicester City | Preston |
| 15:00BST | Report |
| Stadium:Deepdale Attendance: 16,797(2,669 Leicester City fans) Referee: Gavin Ward |
| 23 August 20253 | Preston North End | 1–0 | Ipswich Town | Preston |
| 15:00BST | Report | Stadium:Deepdale Attendance: 18,381 Referee: Matt Donohue |
| 30 August 20254 | Portsmouth | 1–0 | Preston North End | Milton |
| 15:00BST |
| Report | Stadium:Fratton Park Attendance: 20,226(748 PNE fans) Referee:Tony Harrington |
| 13 September 20255 | Preston North End | 2–2 | Middlesbrough | Preston |
| 12:30BST | Report | Stadium:Deepdale Attendance: 19,391 Referee: Thomas Kirk | ||
| Note: Fixture was originally scheduled for a 15:00 kick-off, but was moved liveSky Sports broadcasting.[61] | ||||
| 20 September 20256 | Derby County | 0–1 | Preston North End | Derby |
| 15:00BST | Report | Stadium:Pride Park Attendance: 29,143(1,817 PNE fans) Referee: Lewis Smith |
| 27 September 20257 | Preston North End | 0–0 | Bristol City | Preston |
| 15:00BST | Report |
| Stadium:Deepdale Attendance: 15,295(1,334 Bristol City fans) Referee:Bobby Madley |
| 30 September 20258 | Hull City | 2–2 | Preston North End | Kingston upon Hull |
| 19:45BST |
| Report | Stadium:MKM Stadium Attendance: 18,624(659 PNE fans) Referee: Josh Smith |
| 4 October 20259 | Preston North End | 2–0 | Charlton Athletic | Preston |
| 15:00BST | Report |
| Stadium:Deepdale Attendance: 14,991(1,296 Charlton fans) Referee: James Linington |
| 18 October 202510 | West Bromwich Albion | 2–1 | Preston North End | West Bromwich |
| 15:00BST | Report | Stadium:The Hawthorns Attendance: 24,068(1,998 PNE fans) Referee: Andrew Kitchen |
| 21 October 202511 | Preston North End | 0–1 | Birmingham City | Preston |
| 19:45BST | Report |
| Stadium:Deepdale Attendance: 16,857(3,525 Birmingham fans) Referee: Lewis Smith |
| 24 October 202512 | Preston North End | 3–2 | Sheffield United | Preston |
| 20:00BST | Report | Stadium:Deepdale Attendance: 16,542(2,386 Sheffield United fans) Referee: Farai Hallam | ||
| Note: Fixture was initially scheduled for 25 October, but was moved for liveSky Sports broadcast.[62] | ||||
| 1 November 202513 | Southampton | 0–2 | Preston North End | Southampton |
| 15:00GMT |
| Report |
| Stadium:St Mary's Stadium Attendance: 27,233 Referee: Matt Donohue |
| 5 November 202514 | Preston North End | 2–1 | Swansea City | Preston |
| 19:45GMT | Report |
| Stadium:Deepdale Attendance: 15,911(399 Swansea City fans) Referee: Anthony Backhouse |
| 8 November 202515 | Millwall | 1–1 | Preston North End | Bermondsey |
| 12:30GMT | Report | Stadium:The Den Attendance: 15,788(1,169 PNE fans) Referee: Stephen Martin | ||
| Note: Fixture was originally scheduled for a 15:00 kick-off, but was moved liveSky Sports broadcasting.[63] | ||||
| 21 November 202516 | Preston North End | 1–2 | Blackburn Rovers | Preston |
| 20:00GMT | Report |
| Stadium:Deepdale Attendance: 21,635 Referee:Paul Tierney | |
| Note: Fixture was originally scheduled for 22 November, but was moved liveSky Sports broadcasting.[63] | ||||
| 25 November 202517 | Watford | 1–1 | Preston North End | Watford |
| 19:45GMT | Report | Stadium:Vicarage Road Attendance: 16,113(515 PNE fans) Referee: James Bell |
| 29 November 202518 | Sheffield Wednesday | 2–3 | Preston North End | Sheffield |
| 15:00GMT |
| Report |
| Stadium:Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 22,652(2,376 PNE fans) Referee:Oliver Langford |
| 6 December 202519 | Preston North End | 1–1 | Wrexham | Preston |
| 15:00GMT | Report | Stadium:Deepdale Attendance: 17,842(3,356 Wrexham fans) Referee: Lewis Smith |
| 9 December 202520 | Preston North End | 1–1 | Coventry City | Preston |
| 19:45GMT | Stadium:Deepdale Attendance: Ben Toner Referee: 18,477 |
| 13 December 202521 | Oxford United | 1–2 | Preston North End | Littlemore |
| 12:30GMT |
| Report | Stadium:Kassam Stadium Attendance: 10,379(1,009 PNE fans) Referee: James Linington | |
| Note: Fixture was originally scheduled for a 15:00 kick-off, but was moved liveSky Sports broadcasting.[63] | ||||
| 20 December 202522 | Preston North End | 1–1 | Norwich City | Preston |
| 12:30GMT | Stadium:Deepdale Attendance: 14,831 Referee: Stephen Martin | |||
| Note: Fixture was originally scheduled for a 15:00 kick-off, but was moved liveSky Sports broadcasting.[63] | ||||
| 26 December 202523 | Stoke City | 0–0 | Preston North End | Stoke-on-Trent |
| 15:00GMT | Stadium:bet365 Stadium Attendance: 26,314 Referee: Thomas Kirk |
| 29 December 202524 | Wrexham | 2–1 | Preston North End | Wrexham |
| 19:45GMT | Report |
| Stadium:STōK Cae Ras Attendance: 10,616(1,279 PNE fans) Referee: Reubyn Ricardo |
| 1 January 202625 | Preston North End | 3–0 | Sheffield Wednesday | Deepdale |
| 15:00GMT | Stadium:Deepdale Attendance: 18,069 Referee: Gavin Ward |
| 4 January 202626 | Bristol City | 0–2 | Preston North End | Bristol |
| 15:00GMT |
| Report | Stadium:Ashton Gate Attendance: 22,409(737 PNE fans) Referee:Paul Tierney |
| 17 January 202627 | Preston North End | 0–1 | Derby County | Preston |
| 15:00GMT | Report | Stadium:Deepdale Attendance: 17,641(3,616 Derby fans) Referee: Farai Hallam |
| 20 January 202628 | Preston North End | 0–3 | Hull City | Preston |
| 19:45GMT | Report | Stadium:Deepdale Attendance: 14,174(860 Hull City fans) Referee: Stephen Martin |
| 24 January 202629 | Middlesbrough | 4–0 | Preston North End | Middlesbrough |
| 12:30GMT | Report | Stadium:Riverside Stadium Attendance: 25,723 Referee:Andrew Madley | ||
| Note: Fixture was initially scheduled for a 15:00 kick-off, but was rescheduled for liveSky Sports broadcasting.[64] | ||||
| 31 January 202630 | Ipswich Town | 1–1 | Preston North End | Ipswich |
| 15:00GMT | Report | Stadium:Portman Road Attendance: 27,549 Referee: John Busby |
| 7 February 202631 | Preston North End | 1–0 | Portsmouth | Preston |
| 15:00GMT | Report |
| Stadium:Deepdale Attendance: 16,034(1,785 Portsmouth fans) Referee: Adam Herczeg |
| 14 February 202632 | Preston North End | v | Watford | Preston |
| 15:00GMT | Stadium:Deepdale |
| 20 February 202633 | Blackburn Rovers | v | Preston North End | Blackburn |
| 20:00GMT | Stadium:Ewood Park | |||
| Note: Fixture was initially scheduled for 21 February, but was rescheduled for liveSky Sports broadcasting.[64] | ||||
| 24 February 202634 | Swansea City | v | Preston North End | Landore |
| 19:45GMT | Stadium:Swansea.com Stadium |
| 28 February 202635 | Preston North End | v | Millwall | Preston |
| 15:00GMT | Stadium:Deepdale |
| 6 March 202636 | Preston North End | v | Oxford United | Preston |
| 20:00GMT | Stadium:Deepdale | |||
| Note: Fixture was originally scheduled for 7 March, but was moved for liveSky Sports broadcasting.[65] | ||||
| 11 March 202637 | Coventry City | v | Preston North End | Foleshill |
| 20:00GMT | Stadium:Coventry Building Society Arena | |||
| Note: Fixture was originally scheduled for a 19:45 kick-off, but was pushed back fifteen minutes forSky Sports broadcasting.[65] | ||||
Preston were drawn at home toWigan Athletic in the third round.[66][67]
Win Draw Loss Fixtures
| 9 January 2026Third round | Preston North End | 0–1 | Wigan Athletic | Preston |
| 19:30GMT | Report | Stadium:Deepdale Attendance: 14,366 Referee:Oliver Langford |
Preston were drawn away toBarrow in the first round[68][69] and then at home toWrexham in the second round.[70][71]
Win Draw Loss Fixtures
| 12 August 2025First round | Barrow | 0–1 | Preston North End | Barrow-in-Furness |
| 19:30BST |
| Report | Stadium:Holker Street Attendance: 3,108(938 PNE fans) Referee: Ross Joyce |
| 26 August 2025Second round | Preston North End | 2–3 | Wrexham | Preston |
| 19:45BST | Report | Stadium:Deepdale Attendance: 12,350(2,557 Wrexham fans) Referee: Adam Herczeg |
Players with no appearances are not included on the list;italics indicate a loaned in player
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Championship | FA Cup | EFL Cup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||||
| 1 | GK | Daniel Iversen | 27 | 0 | 26+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | |||
| 2 | DF | Pol Valentín | 25 | 0 | 14+8 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | |||
| 3 | DF | Andrija Vukčević | 18 | 0 | 7+9 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | |||
| 4 | MF | Benjamin Whiteman | 32 | 1 | 30+0 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | |||
| 6 | DF | Liam Lindsay | 20 | 1 | 11+7 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 1 | |||
| 7 | FW | Will Keane | 2 | 1 | 0+2 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | |||
| 8 | MF | Ali McCann | 23 | 1 | 15+6 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | |||
| 9 | FW | Daniel Jebbison | 25 | 5 | 13+10 | 5 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | |||
| 12 | GK | Jack Walton | 5 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | |||
| 13 | GK | David Cornell | 2 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | |||
| 14 | DF | Jordan Storey | 32 | 2 | 30+0 | 2 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | |||
| 15 | MF | Jordan Thompson | 13 | 0 | 6+6 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | |||
| 16 | DF | Andrew Hughes | 27 | 0 | 24+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | |||
| 17 | FW | Lewis Dobbin | 26 | 7 | 19+5 | 6 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 1 | |||
| 18 | DF | Jamal Lewis | 13 | 0 | 6+7 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | |||
| 19 | DF | Lewis Gibson | 19 | 1 | 17+0 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | |||
| 20 | MF | Theo Carroll | 2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | |||
| 21 | MF | Alfie Devine | 33 | 6 | 24+6 | 6 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | |||
| 22 | FW | Miloš Luković | 1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | |||
| 23 | MF | Andrew Moran | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | |||
| 24 | FW | Michael Smith | 32 | 3 | 13+16 | 3 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | |||
| 26 | DF | Thierry Small | 33 | 3 | 23+7 | 3 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | |||
| 28 | FW | Milutin Osmajić | 18 | 5 | 13+2 | 5 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | |||
| 35 | MF | Noah Mawene | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | |||
| 42 | DF | Odeluga Offiah | 31 | 0 | 20+9 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | |||
| 44 | MF | Brad Potts | 6 | 0 | 3+2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | |||
| Players who featured but departed the club during the season: | |||||||||||||
| 5 | MF | Harrison Armstrong | 17 | 1 | 13+4 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | |||
| 10 | MF | Mads Frøkjær-Jensen | 20 | 2 | 2+16 | 2 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | |||
| 22 | MF | Stefán Teitur Þórðarson | 17 | 0 | 6+9 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | |||
| 23 | FW | Jeppe Okkels | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | |||
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