Preston North End take on Middlesbrough this weekend and that means Emil Riis coming up against the team who tried to sign him.
PNE are back in Championship action on Saturday afternoon and will be desperate to get back on track.
North End were beaten 4-2 away at rivals Blackpool last weekend and fans need any kind of pick-me-up this weekend.
Ryan Lowe will be looking to strike an immediate blow to Michael Carrick’s start to life as Middlesbrough boss.
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Barring an injury or illness that hasn’t been publicised, PNE will surely start Emil Riis in attack against Middlesbrough.
It’s not all that long ago that we thought Riis may have been lining up for this game as a Middlesbrough player.
Reports from Danish newspaper BT claimed that PNE received an offer in the region of £7.5million for Riis in August.
That offer was understood to be from Middlesbrough, who wanted Riis to join as Chris Wilder’s fourth striking addition of the summer.
North End stood firm and kept hold of Riis though and Boro’s interest may have disappeared following Wilder’s exit.
Riis will line up against Middlesbrough with PNE fans somewhat split about his performances.
The Dane hasn’t quite hit last season’s heights but did shine in front of goal against West Bromwich Albion and Norwich City earlier this month.
Riis was a menace against Blackpool in the first half last week, winning a penalty for Ben Whiteman to score.
Yet there have also been games where Riis hasn’t made any kind of impact and there were moments against Blackpool where he tried to go on his own rather than play in a teammate.
Riis is absolutely North End’s best striker by some distance but some still feel that PNE should have taken the money from Boro, feeling such cash won’t be on the table for him again.
Middlesbrough know all about the 24-year-old; he scored the winner at the Riverside Stadium as PNE won 2-1 there last season before then bagging a brace against Boro on the final day of last season.
Riis would no doubt love to show Boro what they are missing this weekend whilst again proving that he is North End’s best goalscorer.
North End aren’t flush with cash right now and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Riis was sold in January, but he may need to score a few more goals if PNE are to receive £7.5m bids again.