Preston can leapfrog Stoke City into the top half of the table with a victory at Deepdale in the Championship on Friday night.
The hosts are just two points and four places behind their opponents, and both teams will have ambitions to try and make a late surge towards the European places.
Equally, such is the nature of England's second tier, they will also want to make sure that they are mathematically safe from relegation, and three points would do a lot towards ensuring that.
Read our prediction, preview and betting tips for the game below, and make sure to check out our Today's betting tips page for more of our free expert Championship predictions!
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Preston vs Stoke City key stats
- Preston are on a four-game losing run.
- Stoke have lost their last three away matches.
- The previous three H2Hs have ended in draws.
| Preston | vs | Stoke |
|---|---|---|
| 17th | Position | 13th |
| 49 | Points | 51 |
| 42 | Goals For | 45 |
| 48 | Goals Against | 40 |
| 9 | Clean Sheets | 12 |
| 16th | Home Rank | 11th |
| 15th | Away Rank | 14th |
A bright first half of the season saw Preston as genuine contenders to finish in the play-off places, but they have fallen off hugely in 2026.
That poor form has seen them slip down to 17th, and they are now closer to the relegation zone by points than they are to the play-off spots.
Preston have won just once in 13 games in all competitions (D3, L9).
A problem of Preston's has been scoring goals, as only six teams have netted fewer than their 42 so far this season.
Nonetheless, the players seem to have lost all confidence, and a recent run of defeats means the hosts are looking over their shoulders now and will not want to slip further down the table.
As for Stoke, a similar story has emerged in the respect that they seemed like early contenders to reach the play-offs.
However, since mid-January, their form has completely dipped, which has also seen them sink into the bottom half of the table.
Stoke are winless in five away matches (D2, L3).
The Potters also got knocked out of the FA Cup in February, meaning any unlikely dreams of winning major silverware were shattered.
Nonetheless, both teams are not in a great place right now, and so it is difficult to see who will be able to take all three points on Friday.
Preston vs Stoke City form guide & betting tips
| Preston | vs | Stoke |
|---|---|---|
| D-L-L-L-L | League Form | W-L-L-D-W |
| 1 | Points | 7 |
| 24th | Form Table | 11th |
| 2 | Goals For | 9 |
| 11 | Goals Against | 9 |
| D-L-L-L-L | Form (all comps) | W-L-L-D-W |
Whispers predicts: Preston 1-1 Stoke City
Given home advantage, Preston have been installed as the 158/100 favourites with bookmakers to win the game.
However, they are in the worst form in the Championship, and so we are happy to back against the Lilywhites here.
Stoke are not in the best form either though, especially on their travels, so a Draw at 47/20 with 10 Bet appeals to us.
We are not anticipating too many goals either, as six of the previous seven H2Hs have produced just two or fewer in total.
Under 2.5 goals at 4/5 with BoyleSports therefore also appeals to us.
In terms of other bets, our focus turns to the cards market, with as many as six given in total in the reverse fixture earlier this season.
Given Preston's recent struggles and need to impress on home soil, Preston first team to be booked at 21/20 with AK Bets is a niche market we can back.
Overall, we can see this being a tight match of low quality, and our 1-1 scoreline prediction can also be backed at 11/2 with some bookmakers.
> Under 2.5 goals at 4/5 | Likelihood: Probable
> Preston first team to be booked at 21/20 | Likelihood: Possible
> Draw at 47/20 | Likelihood: Outsider