Stoke and Preston were unable to find the breakthrough as they played out a goalless draw at the bet365 Stadium. Both sides struck the woodwork with Stoke defender Harry Souttar and Preston counterpart Andrew Hughes going close after the break, but in the end the spoils were shared. Stoke played the final four minutes a man light after Soutter was dismissed for a professional foul on Alan Browne. Ryan Ledson drilled a long-range effort wide as the game began to open up and Iverson beat away an effort from Nick Powell after the defence stood off. Preston came agonisingly close to opening the scoring soon after that Souttar effort when Hughes hit the outside of the post with a low free-kick.

Source: Sky sports April 17, 2021 15:22 UTC