Preston vs Stoke City Predictions

• Stoke have four points from their last two games.
• Preston are on a four-game losing run.
• North End have conceded 10 goals and scored just one across their last four games.

Potters head to Deepdale for mid-table tussle

Preston North End entertain Stoke in the Championship on Friday in a match-up between two sides who look to be destined for mid-table finishes.

Both were involved in the promotion fight earlier in the campaign but a run of two points from seven games means Preston go into Friday’s game closer to the drop zone than the top six. North End are 10 clear of danger and 11 adrift of Wrexham in the final play-off place with eight games to play.

Stoke look to be picking up again after their own slump but any strong run now would probably be a case of ‘too little, too late’ as they trail Wrexham by nine points.

The Potters can at least keep their faint promotion hopes alive with a win in Lancashire on Friday, however. Stoke downed Watford 3-1 last time out and before that they held a strong Ipswich side to a 3-3 draw so performances have been fairly good, whereas Preston look to have downed tools.

North End are on a four-game losing streak and theft’ve conceded 10 goals across that spell, scoring just one themselves. Preston are generally hard to beat on home soil but they have five defeats and just one win in their last seven at this venue ahead of Stoke’s visit.

The Potters are in good scoring form with six goals in their last two games and a 2-0 win for the visitors has a chance here. Preston have conceded more than one goal in four straight games and seven goals in total across their last three at home.

Stoke’s January recruit Milan Smit has found a bit of form with two goals and an assist in his last two games after initially struggling to adapt to English football, and he appeals as a contender for an anytime effort.