Preston vs Norwich prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2024-04-12 14:00.
[p]Milutin Osmajić scored all three of his goals against Huddersfield Town on Tuesday after the 80th minute to secure a remarkable 4-1 comeback win for Preston North End and keep their Championship play-off hopes alive. As a result, the Lilywhites are now five points behind sixth-placed Norwich City, who they face on Saturday in a clash that manager Ryan Lowe has dubbed “the biggest” game since his appointment in December 2021. [/p]
[p]Having already equalled last season’s points tally, the hosts have made encouraging progress under Lowe, and they can better that total and stay in the top-six hunt by further improving on their recent nine-match record (W4, D3, L2), while they have recorded five wins in the last eight Championship encounters (D2, L1) at Deepdale.[/p]
[p]Norwich did their bit in boosting Preston’s play-off hopes by squandering a two-goal lead at Sheffield Wednesday (2-2) on Tuesday, leaving manager David Wagner lamenting that his side “didn’t kill the game”. Despite that setback, they still have a five-point buffer over Coventry and Preston, who both have a game in hand, and with four wins in their last six matches (D1, L1), the Canaries will still be confident that they can get the job done. [/p]
[p]The reverse fixture at Carrow Road ended in a goalless draw in December, which made it consecutive H2H clean sheets for Norwich. Extending that frugal spell could be difficult however, as the visitors have kept just one shutout across their last 19 league trips. Of greater priority than not conceding though is improving on their recent seven-game away sequence (W1, D3, L3), as they will be set for a difficult last few weeks of the campaign with a loss here.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Emil Riis has scored four of his last five Championship goals at this venue, netting the last goal of the match during his three most recent scoring outings at Deepdale. Norwich’s Josh Sargent could precede him on the scoresheet as three of his last five league strikes have been game openers, including two away from home.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Preston have failed to score before half-time in five of their last seven games.[/p]