Watford vs Preston North End Prediction & Betting Tips - Championship

Prediction published on 04/04/2024, 09:00  by Kennedy Kechula in Championship Predictions

Preston North End will seek to keep their promotion hopes alive when they travel to Watford in their next Championship game. Heading into this fixture, Preston are five points below the promotion playoff places while Watford are 10 points above the relegation zone. As at Match Day 40, Watford have managed 50 points and the top six seems way beyond their reach. It has been another tough season and they could at best seek a top half finish. In their last two matches, they dented two sides’ promotion hopes and could do the same here. They are coming from 2-2 draws with Leeds United and West Bromwich Albion, both sides in the top six. A win here could see Watford rise two places higher, to 12th. However, with a run of two wins in 15 matches, that could prove tough. Their form against Preston should, however, give Watford some confidence. They have three wins in that run, the most recent a 5-1 victory in the reverse fixture.

Preston have seen their promotion push take a few setbacks in recent times. They are coming from a 1-0 loss away to Birmingham City. Their third winless game in five left them on 59 points and they have a serious disadvantage with their goal difference. They haven't been scoring a lot in recent times. The 3-0 win over Rotherham United is the only time in five matches that they got more than a goal. Preston actually failed to score in two of their last five matches. Getting into the top six already seems like an uphill task for Preston, operating in a crowded field. The positive side of this all however, is that they have a game in hand on the sixth placed side. After four straight away defeats, they responded with three wins in their last five matches. The loss to Birmingham however pulled them back a bit.