Preston vs Leeds prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-12-25 12:30.
After Preston lost for the fifth time in seven games (W1, D1), courtesy of a 95th minute strike away at Swansea on Friday evening, club owner Craig Hemmings and company director Peter Risdale were forced to give manager Ryan Lowe the dreaded vote of confidence on Saturday. However, with the pair stating that they âare not blind to the fact that recent results have not been acceptableâ, Lowe will be in no doubt that he needs to turn North Endâs form around fast.
This is all in stark contrast to their opening seven league games of the season (W6, D1), which saw the Lilywhites top the Championship table. Preston have won only three of the following 16 games (D4, L9), conceding an average of 2.2 goals per game in the process, and consequently only bottom of the table Rotherham United hold a worse defensive record across the season!
Whilst North End have been steadily dropping down into a mid-table position, the opposite is the case for Leeds United, who were as low as 15th after five matches but are now in third after winning ten of their last 14 games (D2, L2). Their latest win, a 4-0 home victory in a so-called âsix-pointerâ against second placed Ipswich, closed the gap to the automatic promotion spots to seven points.
Manager Daniel Farke was unsurprisingly delighted with the three points on Saturday, describing the performance as their âmost mature of the seasonâ to date. His team will now make the trip across the Pennines on Boxing Day looking to maintain their impressive record of only two H2H defeats (W6, D4) against North End from 2011 onwards.
Players to watch: Will Keane was an unused substitute on Friday despite scoring in both of the two previous games, both of which arrived before half-time. Leedsâ JoĂ«l Piroe added their fourth goal against Ipswich and scored a double against Preston for Swansea in April, but has ominously lost on his only two visits to Deepdale.
Hot stat: Preston have conceded eight second half goals across their last three home matches.