New manager Ryan Lowe will take charge of his first game as Preston North End boss on Saturday as Barnsley visit Deepdale.
Lowe was confirmed as Preston’s new manager on Tuesday afternoon, less than 24 hours after Frankie McAvoy’s departure.
The 43-year-old decided to leave a promotion push with Plymouth Argyle in order to take charge at North End.
Here, we take a look at Lowe’s record against current Championship managers as he manages in the second tier for the first time…
Darren Ferguson
Of all managers in the Championship, Lowe has taken on Ferguson the most. After drawing at Bury against Doncaster, Lowe then lost twice to Ferguson’s Peterborough with Plymouth.
Lowe got his revenge earlier this season though as Plymouth hammered Ferguson’s Peterborough 4-0 in the Carabao Cup.
Neil Critchley
Preston fans will want Lowe to beat Neil Critchley at Blackpool. Well, it’s a very small sample size, but Lowe hasn’t yet lost to him.
Lowe’s Plymouth beat Blackpool 1-0 on the first day of last season before later picking up a 2-2 draw at Bloomfield Road.
Preston fans will absolutely hope that Lowe’s unbeaten run against Critchley continues.
Tony Mowbray
Another key rivalry is with Blackburn Rovers and Tony Mowbray. In Lowe’s coaching infancy at Bury, he faced Mowbray twice.
Both games ended in wins for Blackburn – 3-0 and 2-0. Lowe’s side didn’t manage a goal against Mowbray, and Preston will need that record to change.
Lee Bowyer
Birmingham boss Bowyer faced Lowe twice at Charlton last season.
Lowe’s Plymouth dumped Charlton out of the FA Cup with an impressive 1-0 away win, before drawing 2-2 at The Valley just six weeks later.
Preston face Birmingham in January and Lowe will be looking for another positive result over Bowyer.
Carlos Corberan
Lowe took on Carlos Corberan and Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup earlier this year and knocked the Terriers out.
Despite falling behind twice on the road, Lowe’s Plymouth came back to win 3-2 in an impressive cup scalp.
Mark Warburton
Lowe has claimed some impressive cup results, including a 3-2 EFL Cup win over Mark Warburton’s QPR last season.
Plymouth again fell behind in that game but rallied back to beat the Championship side at Home Park.
Chris Wilder
After beating Huddersfield, Lowe took his Plymouth side to take on Sheffield United in the FA Cup.
United won that game 2-1, taking a 2-0 lead before Panutche Camara pulled one back.
Chris Wilder was in charge of the Blades that day and now finds himself at Middlesbrough.
North End just beat Boro, so Lowe won’t face Wilder until the final day of the season.
Nathan Jones
Another Championship boss Lowe has faced just once is Nathan Jones at Luton Town.
Lowe’s Bury side faced Luton in the FA Cup in 2018, with Luton claiming a 1-0 win at Gigg Lane.
That gives Lowe a total of 14 games against current Championship managers. In those games, Lowe has won five, drawn three and lost six.
Lowe will now be hoping to improve on that record after taking the Preston job.