Two teams enduring very different seasons will meet on Wednesday. Preston will be hoping they can finally turn their goal-scoring abilities into tangible points, while Sunderland travel to Deepdale in pursuit of a fifth away victory of the season.
Who has the edge, and what markets seem most appealing? Let’s take a look.
How the bookies view it: Sunderland clear favourites
With Sunderland sitting pretty at the top of the table, even when travelling to Preston’s ground, they were always going to be favourites. As for the exact odds, Sunderland are priced at 7/5 right now, which demonstrates decent value, in our opinion. For Preston, we expected longer odds in all honesty, with the hosts priced at 19/10 to take all three points.
Head-to-head: Trading blows in recent matches
One of the likely reasons for the shorter odds for Preston going into this one is their performance against Sunderland in the recent past. They’ve beaten Sunderland in two of their last five meetings, scoring 2 goals in both of those victories. Likewise, Sunderland has taken two recent wins over Preston, one of which was a 3-0 hammering of Preston at Deepdale!
On another note, one of these teams has managed to score 2 or more goals in 4 of the last 5 matches these sides have played. This indicates that we can expect goals on Wednesday evening.
Players to watch: Sam Greenwood and Wilson Isidor
If you were going to pick a couple of strong goal contenders ahead of Wednesday’s clash, it has to be these two guys! Sam Greenwood is leading the standings for Preston this season when it comes to finding the back of the net. He’s hit home 3 goals in 10 appearances, which may not seem loads, but keep in mind Preston isn’t exactly one of the top teams right now!
It’s a similar story when assessing the statistics for Wilson Isidor – Sunderland’s top striker this season, Isidor has netted 4 goals in 10 regular season games, and this includes a couple of key away goals that have helped Sunderland stay top of the league!
Lastly, if you’re keen to cover either of these guys to score on Wednesday, you can take Greenwood at 6/1 or Isidor at 11/4 right now.
Predicted lineups
Sunderland might be missing guys like Poveda and Alese, but with Isidor leading the pack up front, they won’t struggle for a strong presence that gives them a boost! As for Preston, they will no doubt be without Robbie Brady, given his ongoing ankle troubles. But the squad should be largely unchanged besides that.
Preston possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; Kesler-Hayden, Frokjaer-Jensen, Whiteman, McCann, Potts; Riis-Jacobsen, Greenwood
Sunderland possible starting lineup:
Moore; Hume, Mepham, O'Nien, Cirkin; Rigg, Neil, Bellingham; Roberts, Isidor, Mundle
Anything else catch the eye?
Preston have managed to score 7 goals in their last 4 league games. But quite amazingly, they’ve only managed to win one of those four! This confirms that while they can score, they are having serious troubles at the back.
Adding to that, with Preston scoring 2 goals in both of their last two home games against Sunderland, we feel this one could turn into a three or even four-goal thriller.
This England Championship match between Preston and Sunderland will be played on Nov 6, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Preston vs Sunderland prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
