Two sides hoping to improve on mid-table finishes last season meet in the Championship this weekend as Bristol City face Preston North End on Saturday.
Bristol City finished 14th in the Championship last season in what turned out to be a wholly mediocre campaign.
The Robins started well but faded into irrelevance after just a few weeks and ultimately failed to mount a sustained play-off push.
Regardless, manager Nigel Pearson has been trusted to lead the side for a second successive campaign but one suspects that he will have to impress in the first couple of months of the season in order to stave off mounting pressure.
They've had a solid transfer window thus far having signed Jason Knight from Derby County, Haydon Roberts from Brighton & Hove Albion, Ross McCrorie from Aberdeen and Robert Dickie from Queens Park Rangers.
Outgoings have so far been largely restricted to players deemed surplus to requirements but the one big impending loss is the expected departure of mercurial teenager Alex Scott.
Scott, an England U20 international, was one of the best midfielders in the Championship last season and at the time of writing looks on the verge of a move to Bournemouth.
The fee is likely to net The Robins something in the region of £25m so how or if they spend that money will likely determine what they can achieve this season.
As of now they're not really a favourite for promotion but expect them to be competitive against most sides, particularly when playing at home.
Preston North End finished 12th in the Championship last season in what could only be regarded as a solid campaign given the tools at their disposal.
Manager Ryan Lowe did a good job at Deepdale working with limited resources but he comes into this season with an even bigger task at hand.
Striker Tom Cannon scored eight times in just eighteen games for PNE on loan from Everton last season but Lowe may not be able to able to rely on his services this time around given the club have so far been unable to bring him back.
Troy Parrott, on loan from Tottenham, was also responsible for four goals and will not be part of the setup this campaign.
Striker Will Keane has arrived from Wigan Athletic and Layton Stewart, a 20-year-old striker from Liverpool's academy, has also been brought in so those two will be tasked with filling the void left by Cannon and Parrott.
PNE have also brought in right-back Calvin Ramsay on loan from Liverpool, a signing that very much looks a shrewd addition.
On top of that, former Denmark U21 international Mads Frøkjær-Jensen has arrived from Odense Boldklub to add reinforcements to the midfield so Preston fans will feel fairly satisfied with their club's summer outside of their search for a striker.
This Championship season looks set to be a competitive one so Preston's chances of making the play-offs currently do not seem all that high.
They'll probably have to make further signings this summer if they want to kick on to that level but for now expect them to be a competitive side that struggles in front of goal.
For our Bristol City vs Preston prediction, we're going for a 1-0 win for the home side.
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