Preston North End give the impression they are not particularly striving for promotion to the Premier League, as they keep dropping points in a tight race in the upper half of the standings. Perhaps they will drop more against Oxford United, who badly need points to get out of the relegation zone.
Preston North End
Preston North End are currently in very poor form. The team second from bottom, Oxford United, have exactly the same record — one win, two draws and two defeats — yet there is still a 17-point gap between them. Perhaps they never had a genuine aim of promotion to the top division. This year they have also been weak at home, winning only two of six matches at Deepdale. It is difficult to treat a comprehensive (3:0) victory over a Sheffield Wednesday side who do not look up to EFL Championship level as a serious achievement. In the other home games, the hosts beat only bottom side Portsmouth (1:0).
Oxford United
Oxford United are even seven points behind Portsmouth, but a more positive trend has started to appear. After two draws and four defeats, they finally managed to win. They offered very little in attack (31% possession), but made good use of set pieces: both of their goals against West Bromwich Albion came from a corner and a free-kick by the 27th minute. The visitors are not strong away from home (21st in the away standings), but in the previous month they did not allow either Coventry City or Middlesbrough to score (both — 0:0).
Preston North End vs Oxford United Prediction
Given the hosts' four recent clean sheets (in six matches) at Deepdale, the visitors may be able to keep the scoreline tight and remain close. Last season the hosts scored only once in this fixture (1:1), so this trend has a reasonable chance of continuing.
