LAST time Preston and Birmingham met the two sides were on a roll aiming to reach the First Division Play-Off Final at Cardiff.

North End won through on penalties somewhat controversially according to Birmingham boss Trevor Francis as he was furious the spot kicks were taken in front of Preston's fans.

The two now clash at St Andrews tomorrow in different circumstances.

Preston have won just one league game out of their seven since Cardiff while Birmingham have lost their last two games to Manchester City and the Clarets.

And Preston boss David Moyes knows the Birmingham crowd will be fired up to get revenge for their play-off semi-final exit and after their last two results.

"St Andrews is always a hard place to go whether you are the top of the league or near the bottom," he said.

"They always have tremendous supporters who get behind the team and the crowd is always passionate.

"It is always important you get officials that will be strong and give what they see rather than what the crowd think.

"For me, I have never thought about the play-offs and what happened, it has not been in my thoughts." Preston, who were defeated by Bolton in the Cardiff final, have so far struggled to find last season's form and slipped to a 2-0 defeat at West Brom midweek.

"There were signs of improvement but we gave away two silly goals. They were individual mistakes but those individuals have held up their hands. They feel they let the team and themselves down.

"And we need to score more goals, especially the centre forwards. They need to get their names on the scoresheet. But we have got to provide them with the ammunition."

Defender Colin Murdock is currently the top scorer with two goals to his name while strikers David Healy, Richard Cresswell and transfer listed Jon Macken have only got one each.

Macken could start up front again after making his first start since handing in his transfer request against the Baggies.

"We know Jon can play better than he has been and he would be the first to admit that but that could be said for a lot of our players at the moment."

Battling midfielder Michael Keane will miss out as he injured his ankle in training and will be sidelined for a few weeks while Mark Rankine (back and hamstring) is also out.

Striker Kevin Gallacher, who has signed on for another month at Deepdale, is also sidelined with a hamstring injury.

"I think the division is up for grabs," added Moyes. "Burnley have had a great start. Everyone up there will feel they are the ones to go out and grab it and keep the run going. It is there for the taking."