Championship: Burnley held by Preston as Salech denies play-off chasing Bristol City

Burnley were denied the chance to move into second place in the Championship after a goalless draw with Preston North End in a Lancashire derby at Deepdale.

Scott Parker’s side could have leapfrogged second-placed Sheffield United with a win, but they sit two points behind the Blades and four adrift of leaders Leeds United – with both sides having a game in hand.

The Clarets have now kept a clean sheet in each of their last 11 league games, which equates to a run of 1,090 minutes without conceding. Preston, meanwhile, are 14th with 41 points.

A flashpoint in the game came in the second half, when Milutin Osmajic looked to say something to Burnley player Hannibal Mejbri, which visibly upset the latter.

Mejbri was later substituted, with the incident having been reported to the match officials.

Play-off chasing Bristol City also dropped points on Saturday as substitute Yousef Salech scored a last-minute leveller to help hosts Cardiff City earn a 1-1 draw.

Bristol captain Jason Knight headed home from Yu Hirakawa’s free-kick for the breakthrough on the hour, but Cian Ashford set up Salech for an easy finish in the 90th minute as the two sides shared the points.

A hard-fought point in the Lancashire derby. #pnefc pic.twitter.com/pl41EG4tZU

— Preston North End FC (@pnefc) February 15, 2025

The Robins missed the chance to enter the play-off places and remain seventh, one point behind sixth-placed West Brom, while Cardiff are 20th, where they are three points clear of the relegation zone.

Portsmouth pulled further away from the drop zone after they beat Oxford United 2-0, courtesy of goals from Andre Dozzell and Mark O’Mahony.

Portsmouth, 18th with 36 points, are now only two points behind 16th-placed Oxford.