Southampton vs Preston North End Prediction & Betting Tips - Championship

Prediction published on 16/04/2024, 08:00  by Ian John | Modified on 16/04/2024 at 08:18 in Championship Predictions

Tuesday night sees one key Championship fixture as 4th placed Southampton take on 10th placed Preston North End, with the Saints having an outside chance of perhaps snatching an automatic promotion spot after the three teams above them hit a dismal run of form. The Saints are just six points behind Leeds in third and seven behind Leicester in second and have at least one game in hand (two in the case of Leeds) on them plus they have to play both in their final four games of the season. After winning their last two games, 2-1 over Coventry and 3-2 against Watford in their last match, this will be their penultimate home game of the season and it is one they must win to stand a realistic chance of squeezing into the automatic promotion spots.

It would take a bizarre set of results for Ryan Lowe's Preston to work their way into the playoffs and a mid-table finish looks likely. 10th in the table, with 63 points from 42 games, North End have three away games left this season, of which this is the first. Their recent form isn't great either. A defeat away to Birmingham was followed by a 0-0 draw at Watford. A more positive 4-1 home win over Huddersfield followed that but then Preston lost 1-0 at home to Norwich at the weekend. A result which effectively ended any lingering playoff hopes. North End have conceded just one goal in their last five away games, scoring six, but they have not faced a team the calibre of Southampton in that run and their away record against top four teams this season is not the best.