The Iron face a tough trip on Saturday as they travel to promotion candidates Preston, although they will be confident after successive wins and are nine unbeaten on the road.
Niall Canavan scored his second goal in as many matches to help the Iron on their way to Tuesday’s 2-0 win at home to Chesterfield.Preston host the Iron after a valiant effort in the FA Cup, where they narrowly fell to a 3-1 defeat to Manchester United, however they have won both of their last two league matches.
The Lilywhites currently sit in fourth spot in the League One table and are just six points off the top two, with two games in hand over second placed Swindon.
They have been boosted by the recent return of top scorer Joe Garner who has found the net 13 times this season and also have former Iron loanee Jermaine Beckford.
Mark Robins will be able to welcome back midfielder Gary McSheffrey following the completion of his two match suspension, with Isaiah Osbourne also available after returning to the bench against Chesterfield.
The Iron boss opted to name the same starting line-up on Tuesday and may decide to stick with it once again, having won their last two games.
Paddy Madden and Niall Canavan scored in both of United’s last two games and will be hoping to keep their run of form in front of goal going.
The previous encounter this season went in the favour of Preston, with the Lilywhites running out 4-0 winners. Joe Garner’s brace, an own goal from Miguel Llera and a Chris Humphrey goal secured the victory.
Preston won the last clash at Deepdale 3-0 back in 2013, as goals from Lee Holmes, Nicky Wroe and Jack King sealed the points for North End.
The Iron’s last win against Preston came in the 2010/11 Championship season where Scunthorpe triumphed 3-2 away from home, with Martyn Woolford scoring a winner in the last ten minutes.
Chris Dagnall gave United an early lead, but goals from Craig Morgan and Billy Jones turned the game around for the hosts. Michael O’Connor and Woolford scored to give the Iron the victory though.
Out of a total of 35 matches played between the two sides, Preston have the upper hand over the Iron, winning 17 compared to Scunthorpe’s 13, with five draws between the two sides.
Ahead of the game, see our article on the matchday officials, as well as the betting preview, picking the best odds from the league’s official sponsor, Sky Bet.
If you cannot make it to Deepdale to see if the Iron can continue their impressive form and rise up the League One table, keep track of the action by tuning into the club’s official social media channels or the official website, with live updates available from kick-off.