Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between Preston North End and West Bromwich Albion, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

West Bromwich Albion will hope to continue their unbeaten start to the Championship season when they travel to Preston North End on Saturday.

The Baggies are second in the table on 15 points, while the Lilywhites have recovered from a worrying start and sit 14th on eight points.

Match preview

West Bromwich Albion's Matt Phillips reacts after missing a chance to score on September 14, 2021 © Reuters

Despite enjoying 64% possession and having 25 shots, West Brom were held to a 0-0 stalemate by Derby County on Tuesday evening.

For once their composure in front of goal let them down, and it was the first time this season that the Baggies have failed to score in a league game.

It was Valerien Ismael's side's second successive draw after their game against Millwall finished 1-1 last weekend, and leaves them a point behind leaders Fulham.

After their trip to Deepdale, West Brom face an enticing clash at home to Queens Park Rangers next Friday.

The Baggies have won their last five games against Preston, last losing to the Lilywhites in 2008.

Preston North End's Emil Riis celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates on September 14, 2021 © Reuters

After losing their first three league games of this season, Preston are now unbeaten in four matches.

Emil Riis Jakobsen scored a 95th-minute equaliser to keep that run going on Tuesday night, as Frankie McAvoy's men drew 2-2 away at Sheffield United.

McAvoy described his side's resilience at Bramall Lane as "magnificent" as they twice trailed to the Blades, who had beaten Peterborough United 6-2 last weekend.

The Lilywhites struggled on home turf for much of 2020-21, but six of their eight points so far this season have come at Deepdale.

Preston North End Championship form:

Preston North End form (all competitions):

West Bromwich Albion Championship form:

West Bromwich Albion form (all competitions):

Team News

Frankie McAvoy in charge of Preston North End in April 2021 © Reuters

Preston could welcome back Scott Sinclair, who has missed the last two games through illness.

Tom Barkhuizen is still recovering from coronavirus so remains unavailable, while Ched Evans is sidelined through injury.

The Lilywhites' deadline day signings Ali McCann and Josh Murphy have both made substitute appearances in the last two games, so will be pushing for starts on Saturday.

West Brom are still without Matt Clarke (hamstring), Rayhaan Tulloch (groin) and Dara O'Shea (ankle).

Left-back Conor Townsend slotted into the back three on Tuesday night and looked comfortable, but the Baggies did lose the threat he provides out wide.

Matt Phillips and Jordan Hugill could come into the starting lineup, having come on as half-time substitutes against Derby.

Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Iversen; Storey, Bauer, Hughes; van den Berg, Whiteman, Ledson, Earl; Johnson; Maguire, Jakobsen

West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Johnstone; Ajayi, Bartley, Townsend; Furlong, Livermore, Mowatt, Reach; Diangana, Phillips, Hugill

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We say: Preston North End 0-1 West Bromwich Albion

After two consecutive draws, a win does not feel too far away for this menacing West Brom side. Preston have looked much more confident in recent games, so this will not be an easy match for the promotion-chasing Baggies, but we do think the visitors will pick up the three points.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.

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 West Bromwich Albion win with a probability of 43.05%. A win for Preston North End had a probability of 29.03% and a draw had a probability of 27.9%.

The most likely scoreline for a West Bromwich Albion win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.87%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.46%) and 0-2 (8.36%). The likeliest Preston North End win was 1-0 (10.04%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.03%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 13% likelihood.