Preston vs Birmingham Predictions

• Preston have scored fewer than two goals in all seven of their Championship matches this season.
• Birmingham have conceded fewer than two goals in five of their seven league games in 2022-23.
• PNE have kept seven straight clean sheets and Birmingham have failed to score in all three away games.

PNE may edge past blunt Blues

Preston’s goals against column remains unblemished through seven straight Championship fixtures and there’s no reason to suspect that will change when Birmingham travel to Deepdale on Saturday. The Blues are yet to score in three previous away games this term, one of which – at Cardiff last month – saw them record one attempt in 90 minutes and an xG of less than 0.1.

The other two away trips were better in terms of creation and John Eustace’s men have scored in three of their four at St Andrew’s, but they are in the bottom three and look there to stay unless they can start scoring away from home.

Ryan Lowe’s Preston rode their luck at times against Coventry in midweek, but came away with the points courtesy of a classic counter-attacking performance on the road. They might find it tougher to break Birmingham down in a sense, but won’t face anything like the pressure at the other end.

North End unlikely to hit multiple goals

The obvious play here is to back North End to record an eighth straight clean sheet, but it’s a shade of odds on and there’s more value elsewhere. Backing the Lilywhites not to score multiple goals, as they haven’t done in 19 of their last 25 league games, seems more likely to produce a return at a similar price.

Preston have scored fewer than two goals in all seven of their Championship matches this season while the Blues have conceded fewer than two goals in five of their seven league games in 2022-23 – so the stats add up all right.

Taking the hosts to prevail 1-0 looks good to us as North End have been worth a goal in four of the five matches they have drawn a blank in so far this term and the clean sheet prospects are still high.