diff --git a/cmd/epp/runner/runner.go b/cmd/epp/runner/runner.go
index 2842704bb..47b5f8418 100644
--- a/cmd/epp/runner/runner.go
+++ b/cmd/epp/runner/runner.go
@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@ func (r *Runner) Run(ctx context.Context) error {
 		runtime.SetBlockProfileRate(1)
 	}
 
-	err = r.parsePluginsConfiguration(ctx)
+	err = r.parsePluginsConfiguration(ctx, datastore)
 	if err != nil {
 		setupLog.Error(err, "Failed to parse plugins configuration")
 		return err
@@ -321,7 +321,7 @@ func (r *Runner) registerInTreePlugins() {
 	plugins.Register(testfilter.HeaderBasedTestingFilterType, testfilter.HeaderBasedTestingFilterFactory)
 }
 
-func (r *Runner) parsePluginsConfiguration(ctx context.Context) error {
+func (r *Runner) parsePluginsConfiguration(ctx context.Context, datastore datastore.Datastore) error {
 	if *configText == "" && *configFile == "" {
 		return nil // configuring through code, not through file
 	}
@@ -340,7 +340,7 @@ func (r *Runner) parsePluginsConfiguration(ctx context.Context) error {
 	}
 
 	r.registerInTreePlugins()
-	handle := plugins.NewEppHandle(ctx)
+	handle := plugins.NewEppHandle(ctx, datastore)
 	config, err := loader.LoadConfig(configBytes, handle, logger)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to load the configuration - %w", err)
diff --git a/pkg/epp/config/loader/configloader_test.go b/pkg/epp/config/loader/configloader_test.go
index b0b0741c1..02ee8d054 100644
--- a/pkg/epp/config/loader/configloader_test.go
+++ b/pkg/epp/config/loader/configloader_test.go
@@ -303,7 +303,7 @@ func TestLoadRawConfigurationWithDefaults(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	for _, test := range tests {
-		handle := utils.NewTestHandle(context.Background())
+		handle := utils.NewTestHandle(context.Background(), nil)
 
 		configBytes := []byte(test.configText)
 		if test.configFile != "" {
@@ -346,7 +346,7 @@ func checkError(t *testing.T, function string, test testStruct, err error) {
 }
 
 func TestInstantiatePlugins(t *testing.T) {
-	handle := utils.NewTestHandle(context.Background())
+	handle := utils.NewTestHandle(context.Background(), nil)
 	_, err := LoadConfig([]byte(successConfigText), handle, logging.NewTestLogger())
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("LoadConfig returned unexpected error - %v", err)
@@ -360,7 +360,7 @@ func TestInstantiatePlugins(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("loaded plugins returned test1 has the wrong type %#v", t1)
 	}
 
-	handle = utils.NewTestHandle(context.Background())
+	handle = utils.NewTestHandle(context.Background(), nil)
 	_, err = LoadConfig([]byte(errorBadPluginReferenceParametersText), handle, logging.NewTestLogger())
 	if err == nil {
 		t.Fatalf("LoadConfig did not return error as expected ")
@@ -426,7 +426,7 @@ func TestLoadConfig(t *testing.T) {
 
 	logger := logging.NewTestLogger()
 	for _, test := range tests {
-		handle := utils.NewTestHandle(context.Background())
+		handle := utils.NewTestHandle(context.Background(), nil)
 		_, err := LoadConfig([]byte(test.configText), handle, logger)
 		if err != nil {
 			if !test.wantErr {
diff --git a/pkg/epp/plugins/handle.go b/pkg/epp/plugins/handle.go
index 8c9153cf1..db4606546 100644
--- a/pkg/epp/plugins/handle.go
+++ b/pkg/epp/plugins/handle.go
@@ -19,6 +19,10 @@ package plugins
 import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
+
+	v1 "sigs.k8s.io/gateway-api-inference-extension/api/v1"
+	"sigs.k8s.io/gateway-api-inference-extension/apix/v1alpha2"
+	backendmetrics "sigs.k8s.io/gateway-api-inference-extension/pkg/epp/backend/metrics"
 )
 
 // Handle provides plugins a set of standard data and tools to work with
@@ -27,6 +31,8 @@ type Handle interface {
 	Context() context.Context
 
 	HandlePlugins
+
+	Datastore
 }
 
 // HandlePlugins defines a set of APIs to work with instantiated plugins
@@ -44,10 +50,18 @@ type HandlePlugins interface {
 	GetAllPluginsWithNames() map[string]Plugin
 }
 
+// Datastore defines the interface required by the Director.
+type Datastore interface {
+	PoolGet() (*v1.InferencePool, error)
+	ObjectiveGet(modelName string) *v1alpha2.InferenceObjective
+	PodList(predicate func(backendmetrics.PodMetrics) bool) []backendmetrics.PodMetrics
+}
+
 // eppHandle is an implementation of the interface plugins.Handle
 type eppHandle struct {
 	ctx context.Context
 	HandlePlugins
+	Datastore
 }
 
 // Context returns a context the plugins can use, if they need one
@@ -84,12 +98,13 @@ func (h *eppHandlePlugins) GetAllPluginsWithNames() map[string]Plugin {
 	return h.plugins
 }
 
-func NewEppHandle(ctx context.Context) Handle {
+func NewEppHandle(ctx context.Context, datastore Datastore) Handle {
 	return &eppHandle{
 		ctx: ctx,
 		HandlePlugins: &eppHandlePlugins{
 			plugins: map[string]Plugin{},
 		},
+		Datastore: datastore,
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/epp/requestcontrol/director.go b/pkg/epp/requestcontrol/director.go
index a3e2d6d13..be60c22ae 100644
--- a/pkg/epp/requestcontrol/director.go
+++ b/pkg/epp/requestcontrol/director.go
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@ func NewDirectorWithConfig(datastore Datastore, scheduler Scheduler, saturationD
 		datastore:           datastore,
 		scheduler:           scheduler,
 		saturationDetector:  saturationDetector,
+		preSchedulePlugins:  config.preSchedulePlugins,
 		preRequestPlugins:   config.preRequestPlugins,
 		postResponsePlugins: config.postResponsePlugins,
 		defaultPriority:     0, // define default priority explicitly
@@ -76,6 +77,7 @@ type Director struct {
 	datastore           Datastore
 	scheduler           Scheduler
 	saturationDetector  SaturationDetector
+	preSchedulePlugins  []PreSchedule
 	preRequestPlugins   []PreRequest
 	postResponsePlugins []PostResponse
 	// we just need a pointer to an int variable since priority is a pointer in InferenceObjective
@@ -135,7 +137,7 @@ func (d *Director) HandleRequest(ctx context.Context, reqCtx *handlers.RequestCo
 	logger.V(logutil.DEBUG).Info("LLM request assembled")
 
 	// Get candidate pods for scheduling
-	candidatePods := d.getCandidatePodsForScheduling(ctx, reqCtx.Request.Metadata)
+	candidatePods := d.runPreSchedulePlugins(ctx, reqCtx.Request)
 	if len(candidatePods) == 0 {
 		return reqCtx, errutil.Error{Code: errutil.ServiceUnavailable, Msg: "failed to find candidate pods for serving the request"}
 	}
@@ -161,24 +163,24 @@ func (d *Director) HandleRequest(ctx context.Context, reqCtx *handlers.RequestCo
 	return reqCtx, nil
 }
 
-// getCandidatePodsForScheduling gets the list of relevant endpoints for the scheduling cycle from the datastore.
+// GetCandidatePodsForScheduling gets the list of relevant endpoints for the scheduling cycle from the datastore.
 // according to EPP protocol, if "x-gateway-destination-endpoint-subset" is set on the request metadata and specifies
 // a subset of endpoints, only these endpoints will be considered as candidates for the scheduler.
 // Snapshot pod metrics from the datastore to:
 // 1. Reduce concurrent access to the datastore.
 // 2. Ensure consistent data during the scheduling operation of a request between all scheduling cycles.
-func (d *Director) getCandidatePodsForScheduling(ctx context.Context, requestMetadata map[string]any) []backendmetrics.PodMetrics {
+func GetCandidatePodsForScheduling(ctx context.Context, datastore Datastore, requestMetadata map[string]any) []backendmetrics.PodMetrics {
 	loggerTrace := log.FromContext(ctx).V(logutil.TRACE)
 
 	subsetMap, found := requestMetadata[metadata.SubsetFilterNamespace].(map[string]any)
 	if !found {
-		return d.datastore.PodList(backendmetrics.AllPodsPredicate)
+		return datastore.PodList(backendmetrics.AllPodsPredicate)
 	}
 
 	// Check if endpoint key is present in the subset map and ensure there is at least one value
 	endpointSubsetList, found := subsetMap[metadata.SubsetFilterKey].([]any)
 	if !found {
-		return d.datastore.PodList(backendmetrics.AllPodsPredicate)
+		return datastore.PodList(backendmetrics.AllPodsPredicate)
 	} else if len(endpointSubsetList) == 0 {
 		loggerTrace.Info("found empty subset filter in request metadata, filtering all pods")
 		return []backendmetrics.PodMetrics{}
@@ -194,7 +196,7 @@ func (d *Director) getCandidatePodsForScheduling(ctx context.Context, requestMet
 	}
 
 	podTotalCount := 0
-	podFilteredList := d.datastore.PodList(func(pm backendmetrics.PodMetrics) bool {
+	podFilteredList := datastore.PodList(func(pm backendmetrics.PodMetrics) bool {
 		podTotalCount++
 		if _, found := endpoints[pm.GetPod().Address]; found {
 			return true
@@ -301,6 +303,24 @@ func (d *Director) GetRandomPod() *backend.Pod {
 	return pod.GetPod()
 }
 
+func (d *Director) runPreSchedulePlugins(ctx context.Context, request *handlers.Request) []backendmetrics.PodMetrics {
+	loggerDebug := log.FromContext(ctx).V(logutil.DEBUG)
+	candidates := []backendmetrics.PodMetrics{}
+	if len(d.preSchedulePlugins) > 0 {
+		for _, plugin := range d.preSchedulePlugins {
+			loggerDebug.Info("Running pre-schedule plugin", "plugin", plugin.TypedName())
+			before := time.Now()
+			candidates = append(candidates, plugin.GetCandidatePods(ctx, request)...)
+			metrics.RecordPluginProcessingLatency(PreScheduleExtensionPoint, plugin.TypedName().Type, plugin.TypedName().Name, time.Since(before))
+			loggerDebug.Info("Completed running pre-schedule plugin successfully", "plugin", plugin.TypedName())
+		}
+	} else {
+		// There are no PreSchedule plugins, fallback...
+		candidates = GetCandidatePodsForScheduling(ctx, d.datastore, request.Metadata)
+	}
+	return candidates
+}
+
 func (d *Director) runPreRequestPlugins(ctx context.Context, request *schedulingtypes.LLMRequest,
 	schedulingResult *schedulingtypes.SchedulingResult, targetPort int) {
 	loggerDebug := log.FromContext(ctx).V(logutil.DEBUG)
diff --git a/pkg/epp/requestcontrol/director_test.go b/pkg/epp/requestcontrol/director_test.go
index a0cb7c325..c11200154 100644
--- a/pkg/epp/requestcontrol/director_test.go
+++ b/pkg/epp/requestcontrol/director_test.go
@@ -529,9 +529,7 @@ func TestGetCandidatePodsForScheduling(t *testing.T) {
 	ds := &mockDatastore{pods: testInput}
 	for _, test := range tests {
 		t.Run(test.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-			director := NewDirectorWithConfig(ds, &mockScheduler{}, &mockSaturationDetector{}, NewConfig())
-
-			got := director.getCandidatePodsForScheduling(context.Background(), test.metadata)
+			got := GetCandidatePodsForScheduling(context.Background(), ds, test.metadata)
 
 			diff := cmp.Diff(test.output, got, cmpopts.SortSlices(func(a, b backendmetrics.PodMetrics) bool {
 				return a.GetPod().NamespacedName.String() < b.GetPod().NamespacedName.String()
diff --git a/pkg/epp/requestcontrol/plugins.go b/pkg/epp/requestcontrol/plugins.go
index ca823a670..e993925fd 100644
--- a/pkg/epp/requestcontrol/plugins.go
+++ b/pkg/epp/requestcontrol/plugins.go
@@ -20,15 +20,25 @@ import (
 	"context"
 
 	"sigs.k8s.io/gateway-api-inference-extension/pkg/epp/backend"
+	backendmetrics "sigs.k8s.io/gateway-api-inference-extension/pkg/epp/backend/metrics"
+	"sigs.k8s.io/gateway-api-inference-extension/pkg/epp/handlers"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/gateway-api-inference-extension/pkg/epp/plugins"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/gateway-api-inference-extension/pkg/epp/scheduling/types"
 )
 
 const (
+	PreScheduleExtensionPoint  = "PreSchedule"
 	PreRequestExtensionPoint   = "PreRequest"
 	PostResponseExtensionPoint = "PostResponse"
 )
 
+// PreSchedule is called by the director before sending the request to the scheduler.
+// It gets the set of candidate pods to be filtered and scored.
+type PreSchedule interface {
+	plugins.Plugin
+	GetCandidatePods(ctx context.Context, request *handlers.Request) []backendmetrics.PodMetrics
+}
+
 // PreRequest is called by the director after a getting result from scheduling layer and
 // before a request is sent to the selected model server.
 type PreRequest interface {
diff --git a/pkg/epp/requestcontrol/request_control_config.go b/pkg/epp/requestcontrol/request_control_config.go
index 2d6dc95e7..4eba65bc7 100644
--- a/pkg/epp/requestcontrol/request_control_config.go
+++ b/pkg/epp/requestcontrol/request_control_config.go
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import (
 // NewConfig creates a new Config object and returns its pointer.
 func NewConfig() *Config {
 	return &Config{
+		preSchedulePlugins:  []PreSchedule{},
 		preRequestPlugins:   []PreRequest{},
 		postResponsePlugins: []PostResponse{},
 	}
@@ -30,10 +31,18 @@ func NewConfig() *Config {
 
 // Config provides a configuration for the requestcontrol plugins.
 type Config struct {
+	preSchedulePlugins  []PreSchedule
 	preRequestPlugins   []PreRequest
 	postResponsePlugins []PostResponse
 }
 
+// WithPreSchedulePlugins sets the given plugins as the PreSchedule plugins.
+// If the Config has PreSchedule plugins already, this call replaces the existing plugins with the given ones.
+func (c *Config) WithPreSchedulePlugins(plugins ...PreSchedule) *Config {
+	c.preSchedulePlugins = plugins
+	return c
+}
+
 // WithPreRequestPlugins sets the given plugins as the PreRequest plugins.
 // If the Config has PreRequest plugins already, this call replaces the existing plugins with the given ones.
 func (c *Config) WithPreRequestPlugins(plugins ...PreRequest) *Config {
@@ -50,6 +59,9 @@ func (c *Config) WithPostResponsePlugins(plugins ...PostResponse) *Config {
 
 func (c *Config) AddPlugins(pluginObjects ...plugins.Plugin) {
 	for _, plugin := range pluginObjects {
+		if preSchedulePlugin, ok := plugin.(PreSchedule); ok {
+			c.preSchedulePlugins = append(c.preSchedulePlugins, preSchedulePlugin)
+		}
 		if preRequestPlugin, ok := plugin.(PreRequest); ok {
 			c.preRequestPlugins = append(c.preRequestPlugins, preRequestPlugin)
 		}
diff --git a/test/utils/handle.go b/test/utils/handle.go
index 4a29dda87..5d110a672 100644
--- a/test/utils/handle.go
+++ b/test/utils/handle.go
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import (
 type testHandle struct {
 	ctx context.Context
 	plugins.HandlePlugins
+	plugins.Datastore
 }
 
 // Context returns a context the plugins can use, if they need one
@@ -57,11 +58,12 @@ func (h *testHandlePlugins) GetAllPluginsWithNames() map[string]plugins.Plugin {
 	return h.plugins
 }
 
-func NewTestHandle(ctx context.Context) plugins.Handle {
+func NewTestHandle(ctx context.Context, datastore plugins.Datastore) plugins.Handle {
 	return &testHandle{
 		ctx: ctx,
 		HandlePlugins: &testHandlePlugins{
 			plugins: map[string]plugins.Plugin{},
 		},
+		Datastore: datastore,
 	}
 }