Preston North End and Birmingham City face in Deepdale, in a match for the 9th round of the Championship. In this stadium, the history of direct confrontations is favorable to the home team, which registers 3 wins and 2 draws in the last 5 games. In fact, the last time these two teams played a match at this stadium was on 18‑07‑2020, in a Championship match that ended with the victory of Preston North End by (2‑0). The goals of the match were scored by P. Bauer (43 ‘) and B. Potts (87’) for Preston North End. In this game, the home factor may be decisive, as Preston North End presents considerable differences in their results at home and as a visitor.
Preston North End :
The home team is currently in 13th position, with 10 points won, after 3 wins, 1 draw and 4 losses. In the penultimate match, they won away against Huddersfield Town by (1‑2). In the last match, they lost at home to Millwall by (0‑2). This is a team that curiously has been stronger as a visitor than in their home games, since in the last 30 games they have registered 6 wins, 6 draws and 3 losses as a visitor; against 3 wins, 3 draws and 9 losses in his stadium.
In this competition, they lost the last 4 matches they played at home. Their defense has not been very solid, since they have conceded goals in 7 of the last 8 matches for this competition. In their home matches there is a tendency for few goals, since 14 of the last 23 matches have ended with Under 2,5 goals. This is a team that tends to score a few times first: it only opened the scoring in 2 of its last 8 games for the Championship, of these 2 it reached the break with an advantage in all of them and won at the end of the 90 ‘in 1. In 8 games In the competition, he suffered the first goal 6 times, but got the comeback in 2.
Preston North End comes into this match with a 2-0 loss to Millwall, putting an end to two consecutive victories in the English second division. Considering that Preston lost every game at home. In this game against Birmingham, coach Alex Neil should keep the team 4-2-3-1 with Emil Riis being the most offensive reference. However, winger Scott Sinclair is Preston’s highlight with 4 goals scored. Outside of this game are Louis Moult, Ben Pearson and Ben Davies, all with physical problems.
Birmingham City :
After 2 wins, 4 draws and 2 losses, the visiting team is currently in 15th position, with 10 points won. In their last match, they beat Huddersfield Town at home by (2‑1), after having drawn away in the previous match, in a match against Queens Park Rangers, by (0‑0). This is a team little affected by the home factor, that is, it presents similar results at home and away, since in the last 30 games it has recorded 2 wins, 7 draws and 6 losses as a visitor, with 7 goals scored and 12 suffered; against 3 victories, 6 draws and 6 defeats in his stadium, with 19 goals scored and 25 suffered. In their last 4 away games for the championship, Birmingham City recorded 3 draws and 1 loss, for which they won 3 points out of 12 possible.
For this competition, they have not won any of the last 4 away matches. In their home matches there is a tendency for few goals, since 17 of the last 23 matches have ended with Under 2,5 goals. In the last 20 home matches for all competitions there is 1 period that stands out: they have conceded 9 of their 20 goals between minutes (76’ ‑ 90 ‘).
Birmingham City come into this game with a 2-1 victory over Huddersfield, putting an end to the six consecutive games without tasting the taste of victory: the team’s only goal was signed by Lukas Jutkiewicz and Gary Gardner. In general, coach Aitor Karanka plays 4-2-3-1, favoring ball possession and organized attacks, especially through the left aisle. However, it is important to note that left winger Jérémie Bela is the visiting team’s best spiker with 2 goals scored. For this game the coach cannot count on Jake Clarke-Salter, a player who is recovering from an injury.
