FA Cup: Preston vs Arsenal preview

Championship side Preston take on Arsenal in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday, in a match that will surely be a big event for the fans at Deepdale stadium. Arsenal are clear favourites, but the home turf advantage and the numerous absences in the visitors' squad might allow Preston to pull off an upset. The two teams have last met in 1999 when Arsenal won both in the League Cup and in the FA Cup. Preston had a decent run lately, they lost just one of their last six matches in the Championship and managed to win three of those fixtures. They are six points away from the last playoff spot, so a push for promotion would be possible this season. Jermaine Beckford is suspended for this match, the third of a four-game ban, while John Welsh and Calum Woods are injured. Arsenal pulled off a great comeback at Bournemouth this week, they seemed down and out when the Cherries were leading 3-0 but somehow they turned things around in the last 20 minutes of the game. However, their performance up to that point is a cause for concern as they were unable to send a single shot on target in 70 minutes of play. With several players injured, Mohamed Elneny away at the Africa Cup of Nations and various recent knocks to first-choice players, Arsene Wenger will be forced to field some players who rarely featured this season. Probable line-ups: Preston: Maxwell - Humphrey, Huntington, Wright, Cunningham - Pringle, Johnson, Pearson, Robinson - Doyle, Makienok Arsenal: Ospina - Jenkinson, Gabriel, Holding, Monreal - Xhaka, Ramsey - Perez, Iwobi, Chamberlain - Giroud My prediction: Arsenal to win 3-1. Here are the odds for the match at Bet365: Preston win - 7.50 Draw - 5.00 Arsenal win - 1.44