Preston North End 0-0 Blackburn Rovers: Both teams see red in feisty derby draw

Preston North End held local rivals Blackburn Rovers to a goalless draw in Sunday’s Championship fixture, with both teams being reduced to 10 men.

The hosts saw Sam Greenwood sent off three minutes before the interval, the Leeds United loanee catching Lewis Baker with a rash challenge.

That allowed Blackburn to enjoy plenty of possession in the second half but they could not make it count, and defender Owen Beck saw red to even things up when he lashed out at Duane Holmes late on.

Blackburn’s Tyrhys Dolan went closest to finding the net, hitting the post on the rebound after Freddie Woodman palmed Ryan Hedges’ effort into his path shortly before half-time.

Preston carved out a couple of good chances of their own soon after Greenwood’s red card, but Aynsley Pears denied Brad Potts then made another fine save to keep out Andy Hughes’ header as the neighbours drew a blank.

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Data Debrief: Rare Lancashire blank

Sunday’s stalemate was the first goalless draw between Preston and Blackburn in 43 years, and in truth, neither side can claim they did enough to warrant three points.

Preston attempted seven shots totalling just 0.37 expected goals (xG), while Blackburn only had six shots despite playing much of the game a man up, creating 0.8 xG.

Preston remain 21st in the table with just one victory after six matches, while Blackburn are fourth, four points behind early leaders West Brom.