Fulham manager Marco Silva is well aware of how tough a place Deepdale is to visit, ahead of Fulham’s Third Round Carabao Cup tie on Tuesday evening.
Preston North End haven’t had the best of it in the league this season, replacing Ryan Lowe with Paul Heckingbottom after their first game, but have impressed in the Carabao Cup, putting seven goals without reply past Sunderland and Harrogate in Rounds One and Two.
“It's always difficult to go there to play, always difficult,” Silva said in Monday morning’s pre-match press conference. “Of course, they changed the manager at the beginning of the season, but we know that it’s always a difficult game.
“It's not a Championship competition for them, they are playing against a Premier League side and it’s always an opportunity for the players to show up, to show their quality.
“We know this, we had a good experience 20 days ago against Birmingham away from home. Of course, we got the job done, but it was really difficult for us – the way Birmingham approached the game, the intensity, the energy, and we expect the same from Preston.
“We have to be really solid, and of course after show our quality, to implement our quality on the pitch, to be able to play the next round.”
Silva has always shown cup competitions the utmost respect in his time at the Club, and nothing has changed this year.
“Being professional, being serious, is the main thing for us in the competition,” he said. “Playing with ambition, too.
“We know what we are capable of doing, but at the same time, we know that we must be fully focused and fully motivated for that game, because in that game anything can happen.
“It’s important for what we have been doing the last two seasons in different competitions. Two seasons ago, Quarter-Finals of the FA Cup, last season [Carabao Cup] Semi-Finals for the first time ever in the history of the football club, and it’s really important for us to keep taking these steps forward.
“We are really positive, and of course we have to show tomorrow evening that we are capable of doing it again.”
Silva made 11 changes to his team for the Second Round win over Birmingham, but says that whatever side he puts out in Lancashire will be one that he believes can earn progression.
“It’s a different competition, but really important for us, too,” he explained. “It’s the beginning of the season, where if you change something it’s not really because of fatigue.
“We need all the players at the same level, and it’s always a chance to have all of them in action and to do more or less the things that we've been doing, looking serious for the competition.
“For us, it doesn't matter who is going to start, it's always going to be a team that is capable of winning the game.”