Preston North End will welcome Stoke City to Deepdale on Tuesday evening and the hosts will enter the fixture in 15th place in the Championship after accumulating 10 points in their first nine games this season.
The Potters enter the encounter seven points better off than their opponents, and as a result, they occupy a playoff place.
Match preview
© Reuters
Preston are five points clear of the relegation zone and they are also six points adrift of the playoffs.
The Lilywhites recovered well after losing their opening three games of the season to now be unbeaten in their last six Championship fixtures.
However, only two of those six matches have resulted in victories and they enter Tuesday's encounter fresh off the back of four consecutive draws, with the most recent of those coming at the weekend as they played out a 0-0 draw with Birmingham City.
Frankie McAvoy's side have been in excellent form at home, picking up seven of their 10 points this season at Deepdale and Preston have only suffered one defeat at home this term, which came on the opening day against Hull City.
Since the Hull defeat, the Lilywhites have won twice and drawn once at home, scoring five times in that period and only conceding on two occasions, so McAvoy will be confident his side can get something against a Stoke side full of quality.
© Reuters
Stoke have started the season in an impressive fashion and as a result they sit in fifth position, while they are also just four points off Bournemouth, who are top of the league.
The Potters flew out of the traps by winning three of their first four league games of the season before they suffered their first defeat of the campaign, losing to Fulham at the end of August.
Michael O'Neill will be content with his side's progress since the Fulham defeat, as his team have only suffered one loss in their last four games, but the Stoke boss will be aware that their away form still needs to improve if they are to maintain a playoff place.
Their only win on the road was a 3-1 victory over Swansea City, but since then they have lost their last two away games, with the most recent of those being a 2-1 defeat to Derby County.
Stoke can take confidence from their last trip to Deepdale when they won 1-0 in the league last season and they will be aiming to replicate that result on Tuesday.
- W
- W
- D
- D
- D
- D
- W
- D
- D
- D
- W
- D
- W
- L
- W
- D
- L
- W
- L
- W
- D
- L
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Preston have seen Ched Evans, Matthew Olosunde and Tom Barkhuizen all recently return to training, but the game on Tuesday may come too soon for the trio.
The Lilywhites will definitely be without Connor Wickham and Liam Lindsay, who have hamstring and knee injuries respectively.
McAvoy did see Scott Sinclair return to the squad at the weekend, although the 32-year-old was an unused substitute and he is expected to be on the bench once again on Tuesday.
Stoke will be without Steven Fletcher, Morgan Fox and Tyrese Campbell, although the latter is nearing a return having featured for the Under-23 side.
Joe Allen could return to the squad following a toe injury, but a starting place is unlikely for the Welshman.
O'Neill will have Tommy Smith available after he served a three-match suspension and the 29-year-old will come into the starting lineup with Demeaco Duhaney dropping out.
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Iverson; Storey, Bauer, Hughes; Van Den Berg, Whiteman, Johnson, Ledson, Earl; Riis, Maguire
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Davies; Wilmot, Souttar, Chester; Smith, Clucas, Sawyers, Vrancic, Tymon; Powell, Brown
We say: Preston North End 1-1 Stoke City
Both sides will be aiming to collect all three points, but with the two teams proving hard to beat we think this one may end all square as both sides could cancel each other out in what could be a cagey fixture.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Preston North End win with a probability of 39.35%. A win for Stoke City had a probability of 32.31% and a draw had a probability of 28.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Preston North End win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.31%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.04%) and 2-0 (7.49%). The likeliest Stoke City win was 0-1 (10.87%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.22%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 13.2% likelihood.
