Kick-off: 1730, 18/08/2018
Stadium: Deepdale
TV: Sky Sports
Stoke have not adjusted well to life in the Championship and could still be vulnerable when visiting Preston on Saturday evening.
North End are always difficult opponents at Deepdale and have already claimed league and EFL Cup victories on home turf this month.
The Lilywhites are fancied to outwork the Potters and appeal at 7/5 as our first Preston vs Stoke prediction.
A Look At Preston North End’s Betting Odds
Preston finished just outside the play-off places in seventh last season and should be there or thereabouts again this term.
They opened with a 1-0 home win over QPR before paying the price for a sloppy first-half display when going down by the same scoreline at Swansea.
North End did improve after the break at Liberty Stadium, though, and had chances through Tom Barkhuizen, Lukas Nmecha and Josh Harrop.
“We moved the ball much better and the quality was miles better,” commented Alex Neil. “Overall, I think we deserved more.”
Tuesday’s 3-1 EFL Cup triumph over Morecambe was a nice confidence booster and should stand them in good stead here.
Looking at the Preston vs Stoke odds, we like 29/10 for North End to win by a one-goal margin.
A Look At Stoke City’s Betting Odds
Stoke could probably have done with the distraction of a midweek cup match after picking up just one point from their first two Championship fixtures.
The Potters fell to a 3-1 defeat at Leeds and then failed to capitalise on Benik Afobe’s 29th-minute opener when drawing 1-1 with Brentford at home.
Brentford even looked the likelier to come away with all three points after equalising via Ollie Watkins’ terrific long-range strike on 66 minutes.
“My message to the players is that we’ve got to wake up,” said Gary Rowett. “At the moment, we look too easy to create chances against.
“Every time we lost the ball high up the pitch it looked like Brentford could counter-attack us. We put ourselves under pressure at times and there were a bit of nerves.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do and need to stop feeling sorry for ourselves as a group.”
City may get there in the end, but for now we prefer 9/1 for a 2-1 home win to complete our Preston vs Stoke betting tips.
Additional stats
Last result:
PRESTON 3-1 Morecambe – Brandon Barker, Louis Moult, Graeme Burke
STOKE 1-1 Brentford – Benik Afobe
Head-to-head: N/A
Join bwin today and receive up to £10 money back as a FreeBet if your first wager at odds of 1/1 (2.0) or greater is a loser! Terms and conditions apply.
Stay close to the action with the bwin app. Access more markets than any other betting provider and scan our in-depth football statistics menu to find and make your bet selections fast. Download now the best betting app.
