Preston North End vs Southampton Prediction & Betting Tips - Championship

Prediction published on 23/10/2023, 16:10  by Devesh Jaganath in Championship Predictions

Promotion hopefuls Preston North End and Southampton will face off in the Championship on Wednesday evening. Both sides are separated by a single point, with the hosts currently in fourth place while the visitors are fifth. After barely finishing in the top half last season, Preston made a much more promising start to the current campaign. They won their first six matches this season and were in the top two midway through August. However, since then, things have taken a turn for the worse. After drawing 1-1 against Millwall last week, the hosts are now winless in their last five league matches, including three losses and two draws. It is worth noting, though, that two of those defeats were against Leicester and Ipswich, who are currently first and second, respectively. In six home games this season, PNE have won four, drawn one, and lost one. They also scored two or more goals in four of those matches. Still, going up against the Saints is never straightforward, and the bookmakers have the hosts down as the underdogs in this one. 

Southampton began the season as one of the favourites to be promoted back to the Premier League. After a bright start that saw them go four matches unbeaten, the Saints hit a roadblock last month. They lost four consecutive matches in the space of three weeks, including a 5-0 thumping by Sunderland and a 4-1 home defeat to The Foxes a week later. However, they bounced back with a much-needed 3-1 win over Leeds United at the end of the month and have not been beaten since. Over their last four games, the visitors have won three and drawn one. Southampton’s away form has been better than at home this season, currently on 12 points on the road compared to eight at home. Can the Saints keep their uptick in performance going and close the gap to the top two?