Preston North End take on Stoke City in the Championship this evening, but look set to avoid a meeting with striker Abdallah Sima.
PNE are looking for a win having drawn the last four Championship games.
Stoke are up in the top six right now, but have lost two and drawn one of their last five games.
The Potters pose a major threat to North End tonight, but they will likely be without a player PNE wanted to sign.
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Striker Abdallah Sima missed Saturday’s 2-0 win over Hull City.
The Senegalese hitman suffered an ankle injury against Watford last week, having been on the receiving end of a strong challenge.
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Sima wasn’t in the squad to face Hull, and it’s considered unlikely that he will be back to face PNE tonight.
North End may be happy with that, even if Sima has yet to score since joining Stoke on deadline day.
Sima was highly-regarded at Slavia Prague, even earning comparisons to Thierry Henry. Quick, strong and capable of playing out wide or up front, Sima was a sensation last season with 20 goals in all competitions.
Brighton and Hove Albion swooped to sign Sima on deadline day, loaning him straight to Stoke.
PNE had asked about Seagulls striker Andi Zeqiri. When he joined Augsburg, North End asked about taking Sima on loan instead.
Brighton sadly already had a deal in place with Stoke, so North End missed out on Sima.
PNE will be glad that Sima looks set to miss tonight’s game, as at least he wouldn’t be able to score against Frankie McAvoy’s side.