PNE secured their place in this round by defeating Sunderland and Harrogate, with Milutin Osmajic scoring a hat-trick and Sam Greenwood adding two goals in the last match.

For Fulham, Raul Jimenez and Jay Stansfield were on the scoresheet in their 2-0 victory over Birmingham City last month. Stansfield has since returned to Birmingham on loan. Over the weekend, Jimenez gave Fulham the lead against West Ham, but a stoppage-time goal from Danny Ings saw the match end in a draw.

Preston North End are winless in their last three encounters with Fulham, having lost twice at Craven Cottage, while their last meeting at Deepdale in November 2021 ended in a draw. PNE’s last victory over Fulham was in December 2019, with goals from Sean Maguire and David Nugent.

**Preston North End team news:**
Stefan Thordardson is expected to return after missing the last game due to illness. However, Will Keane remains out with a minor hamstring injury.

**Fulham team news:**
Fulham have no major injury concerns but will be without Carlos Vinicius, who is sidelined for eight to ten days with a calf injury. He had been linked with a transfer, but the move did not materialize.

**Out:** Carlos Vinicius