Charlton vs Preston Predictions

Preston are aiming to continue their push for promotion when they make the trip to London on Sunday. The visitors are searching for a third successive win over Charlton, something they last managed back in 1931. However, it’s over three years since these two sides last met. Plenty has changed for these two teams in recent years, but they’ve each made strong starts to put themselves in the mix for promotion.

Charlton have been brilliant since moving up from the third tier, while they’ve gone above and beyond expectations by slipping into the top 10 in the Championship. The hosts have spent their whole campaign in and around the playoffs, while there are just three points between them and second-placed Preston as we head into the meeting at the Valley on Sunday. Will the hosts bridge that gap?

Preston are pushing themselves towards the top flight despite barely featuring in the playoff conversation in August. Alex Neil’s men are thriving through consistency in selection, which has pushed them into second despite a quiet transfer window at Deepdale. They’ve enjoyed a campaign full of victories and goals, but the majority of those have come at their own ground. Things have proven to be tougher for them away from home.

The visitors have scored just 19% of their total goals this season on the road. Preston only have  five goals from their last six away, which has left them with mixed returns on the road. While they have a near-perfect record at Deepdale, Preston have lost half of their trips this term. Meanwhile, Charlton have already won four times at home this season and they could take advantage of that here.

Preston head into this clash with one win and seven defeats across their last 10 trips. Given that the visitors aren’t scoring goals, we expect Charlton to add to a fine defensive record, which has seen them ship just five goals in seven here. They should do enough to hold off Preston, while we’re backing another away loss for the visitors. That has us backing Charlton Draw No Bet.

We are expecting a close game between these two sides, especially given that under 2.5 goals has landed in Preston’s last four on the road. The hosts have seen under 2.5 goals in 57% of their games at the Valley this term, while half of their home wins have come by a 1-0 scoreline. The visitors have lost just three times this season and two of those have been 1-0 defeats, so we’re backing Charlton to win 1-0 as our correct score pick.