Preston North End
- Two sides on very different arcs of their Championship 2025-2026 campaigns collide on Thursday as fifth-placed Preston North End welcome bottom-placed Sheffield Wednesday to Deepdale.
- Paul Heckingbottom’s side have taken 37 points from their 23 games so far this term, a very solid showing on paper, but the Lilywhites have drawn their last two games and come into this after a series of frustrating matches.
- However, a run of three home draws in a row could be set to end here as Wednesday are in poor form.
Sheffield Wednesday
The visitors have lost three of their last five in the league (D2, L3) and have won just one of their 10 away games so far (D4, L5), suggesting that the home side should have enough to win the game.
Head-to-Head
Preston North End have won three of the last five head-to-head meetings between these sides, with Sheffield Wednesday winning once and one draw.
Key Players
- PNE’s 3-5-2 or 3-4-1-2 system is very pragmatic and relies on the energy of their wing-backs to recover quickly and their midfielders to remain compact in their build-up play and then quickly transition to vertical play.
- On the other hand, Wednesday are built around their pressing game under Henrik Pedersen, who is trying to inject energy and pressing intensity into a struggling squad since taking over in July 2025.
- The Owls press aggressively in flexible shapes, aiming for quick turnovers and immediate vertical play.
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Players to watch:
- Barry Bannan is Wednesday’s top scorer this season in the Championship with three goals in 22 games, while youngster Charlie McNeill has come to the fore in recent weeks with three in his last five.
- Daniel Jebbison has been PNE’s talisman in the second tier with five goals from 16 games and has scored two in his last five games, accounting for almost half of Preston’s goals during the same period.
Betting Insights
- The Lilywhites have averaged 1.33 goals scored and 1.00 goals conceded at home this season, while Wednesday have scored just 1.10 and conceded 1.60 on the road.
- With Preston drawing their last two matches and both sides' low scoring records, the Under 2.5 goals line at 1.95 could also appeal in what could be a cagey game.
Prediction
- Preston’s set-up should be able to blunt the visitors’ attacking threats here and they will simply be looking to get the ball in the net and grab the three points.
- They are the clear favorites at 1.52, but I’m backing them to get the result on Thursday at Deepdale.
