Saturday’s late Championship kick-off is a Lancashire derby as Preston North End host Blackburn Rovers.
Preston’s loss against Sheffield Wednesday last week put an end to their three match unbeaten run, however, it was other events that made the game rather manic. Preston strikers Jermaine Beckford and Eoin Doyle had an argument which subsequently turned into a fight, resulting in both players being sent off. Manager Simon Grayson called the pair embarrassing and they have since been fined by the club – their fines have been turned into refunds for North End supporters who attended the match.
In terms of the form book, that loss against Wednesday meant that Preston’s run of matches without a win stretched to three with the former play-off hopefuls now gradually slipping down the table. Unfortunately for Grayson’s men, their home record has gone down the pan in recent weeks and, after winning four consecutive home matches between September and October, The Lilywhites have picked up just two points from a possible nine at Deepdale – scoring just twice.
With strikers Doyle and Beckford suspended for the match against Blackburn, it looks like Preston may be continuing their barren run on home soil.
After a disastrous start under Owen Coyle, with many calling for the former Burnley and Bolton Wanderers manager to be sacked, Blackburn have recovered in recent weeks with just one defeat in their last five matches – including a shock victory over league leaders Newcastle United. Additionally, after a fairly poor record in front of goal before that set of matches, it will please Rovers fans that their team have scored in each of those five games.
Before that win against Newcastle, Blackburn had been abysmal away from Ewood Park with three straight losses and you could possibly say that, although impressive, Blackburn’s victory against Newcastle was somewhat of a fluke. Rovers went into that game with nothing to lose so could afford to play with more freedom, however, this match against Preston will be totally different as the pressure will be back on.
Preston have been made heavy favourites here which surprises me somewhat. The pressure on this match will be so immense that I think neither side will particularly want to go out and express themselves. Preston are pretty poor at home and, Newcastle result aside, Blackburn are bad on the road. This of course leads to the conclusion of a draw which can be had at 5/2.
If you fancy something that does not rely so much on the result then ‘Both Teams to Score’ makes for a nice bet here. Both of these sides have kept just one clean sheet in their last six matches and so we may see a couple of goals on the cards here in a rather tense affair. Given these statistics, I am surprised that this market gives you such a good return and I would certainly recommend you take advantage on Saturday.
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