Stoke vs Preston prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-01-01 15:00.
Alex Neil warned his Stoke side that they need to stop conceding “cheap, sloppy goals” after some calamitous defending led to a 1-0 defeat against high-flying Burnley on Friday night. Such schoolboy defending means the Potters have now failed to keep a clean sheet in their last five Championship fixtures, conceding eight goals in the process as their play-off aspirations continue to dwindle.
Two of those games have ended in defeat (W1, D2), but the congested nature of the division means City, looking anxiously over their shoulder towards the relegation zone, could very easily throw themselves back into the promotion shake-up by putting together a string of positive results. However, their form at the bet365 Stadium is proving a major stumbling block to climbing the table, as they have already lost six times at home this season (W3, D3), including four of the last six (W1, D1).
The visit of Preston won’t inspire much confidence for some fans either, given Stoke have won just two of the last ten H2H clashes between the two sides (D3, L5), with both of those victories coming away from home. North End however are in no great form themselves, as they head to the Potteries on the back of three straight defeats and knowing a fourth would signal their worst run since late 2019.
The most recent of those losses came at the hands of an in-form West Brom on Thursday (2-0), after which boss Ryan Lowe conceded “with and without the ball we weren't good enough”. The Preston manager will be wary of changing too much to get a tune out of his side though given that was just their third loss on the road this season, with their tally of 21 away points among the very best in the division (W6, D3).
Players to watch: Stoke’s Jacob Brown suffered his heaviest career defeat against Preston in 2019 (5-1), one of three losses in six H2H meetings (W1, D2). Meanwhile, Preston captain Alan Browne is looking to protect an unbeaten record at the bet365 Stadium, where he has picked up three wins and a draw in four visits, scoring Preston’s opener in two of those wins.
Hot stat: Stoke have conceded the first goal in nine of their last 11 Championship fixtures.