Sunderland – Preston Prediction & Picks (17.03.2018)

Sunderland and Preston North End meet at Stadium of Light, in a match for the 38th round of the Championship. In the last direct match for this edition of the league, on 09-30-2017, the two teams tied (2-2). In this game the home factor may be decisive, since the Preston North End presents considerable differences in their results at home and as a visitor.

Sunderland

After 5 wins, 13 draws and 19 losses, the home team is currently in the 24 th position of the league, with 28 points won. In the last match, they have lost in an away match against Queens Park Rangers by (1-0), after in the previous match they have lost (0-3) at home, against Aston Villa. This is a team that usually maintains its competitive levels in home and away matches, since in the last 30 matches they register 2 wins, 5 draws and 8 losses in away matches; against 2 wins, 5 draws and 8 losses at their stadium. In the last 10 home league matches Sunderland has a record of 2 wins, 3 draws and 5 losses, so they have won 9 points out of 30 possible. The team allowed goals to the opponent in 9 of the last 10 matches for this competition, so it has not been very strong defensively. In 37 matches in this competition, he never got the comeback in the 25 games in which he suffered the first goal.

This team is one of the big surprises, for the refusal, in this championship, since it was expected that it managed to return to the English first division, however, it desperately occupies the relegation zone. In the last game for this competition, the landlords lost on the QPR grounds, 1-0. In this game before his public, the coach Chris Coleman should not make major changes compared to the previous starting eleven, with Williams being the main responsible for organizing the offensive process. On the other hand, Lewis Grabban is the best marker of Sunderland in the championship, with 12 goals scored. Without great surprises, the local team exhibits enormous difficulties in the maintenance of ball possession and completion. For this game the coach does not have Steele, suspended, in addition to Duncan Watmore, this one due to injury.

Preston

The away team is currently in the 8 th position of the league, with 57 points won, after 14 wins, 15 draws and 8 losses. In the penultimate match, they won in a home match against Bristol City, by (2-1). In the last match, they lost in a home match against Fulham, by (1-2). This is a team that usually gets better results in away matches than at home, since in the last 30 matches they register 6 wins, 6 draws and 3 losses in away matches, with 24 goals scored and 17 conceded; against 4 wins, 6 draws and 5 losses at their stadium, with 16 goals scored and 18 conceded.

For this competition, they have not lost any of the last 10 away matches. In their home league matches the most frequent result at half-time was the 0-0 (7 out of 18 matches). The team has conceded goals in 9 of the last 10 matches, so it has not presented great defensive solidity, but their offense has scored consistently, as they have scored goals in 9 of the last 10 matches for this competition. In 37 matches in this competition, he only managed 3 comebacks in the 15 games in which he suffered the first goal. In the last 18 away matches for this competition there is 1 period that stands out: they have scored 9 of their 24 goals between minutes (76′-90 ‘).

Preston leaves for this game with a home defeat against Fulham, 1-2, putting a final point to the two successive wins in the English second division. It is important to emphasize that visitors seek to reach the places that give access to the play-off of promotion. Coach Alex Neil worked in the best way this team of Preston, being the center of the field one of the strengths of the team: Pearson is the great responsible for balancing his team, while Browne is responsible for creating and organizing the offensive process. Despite the importance of these players, the great highlight of Preston is on the attack front: Tom Barkhuizen is one of the best finishers, with 8 goals scored. The entire template is available for this game.