Preston North End vs Bolton Predictions

Preston pulled off a fantastic result in midweek, as they claimed a 2-0 victory at Championship leaders Leeds. They booked a spot in the third round of the EFL Cup, and that is bound to raise confidence around the club as they look to climb away from the lower reaches of the league. Despite a tough few games, the Lillywhites still have play-off ambitions after last season’s seventh place finish. Can they get those back on track with a result against Bolton this weekend?

The hosts have just four points to their name so far, despite a great start. Preston won at home to QPR on the opening day, but they have gone four games without a win since. However, victories in the League Cup over Morecambe and Leeds have kept spirits up, and now they have a great result to build on ahead of what seems to be a straightforward game. After losing back to back games in the Championship, can Alex Neil’s side get things back on course and secure three points here?

Bolton made a flying start to the new campaign, with 10 points from five so far. However, they lost out to Sheffield United on Saturday. They got a 3-0 hammering from the Blades, which was just their second loss of the campaign following a 2-1 EFL Cup defeat against Leeds. Elsewhere the Trotters have started with positive results against weaker sides in this division, winning 1-0 against Reading and Birmingham of late. The visitors were firmly put in their place with their loss to Sheffield United, so their downturn in form could be about to get a whole lot worse.

The hosts had a strong home record last season, and part of their struggles of late have come with their away games. They’ll be glad to return to Deepdale, and facing Bolton here feels like a great opportunity for the hosts to come away with the points. They face a side who lost over half of their away trips last season, failing to score in 57% of their games on the road. With that in mind, this should be comfortable for the hosts.

We expect them to follow up their Leeds win with another victory here. The visitors lost by at least two goals in 10 of their 13 away defeats last season, so we’re backing Preston with a -1 Asian Handicap. We expect them to win by two clear goals given the form of the visitors, with Preston set to build on a strong week so far.