Preview: Preston North End vs Watford - prediction, team news, lineups

Edward Still will take charge of his first game as Watford boss on Saturday when the Hornets visit Deepdale for a Championship meeting with Preston North End.

The hosts head into the weekend in seventh place in the table, while the Hornets are three points further back in 12th position.

Match preview

After taking just one point from four matches, Preston got their playoff bid back on track with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Portsmouth last weekend.

Alfie Devine's sixth Championship goal of the season proved enough to seal all three points, ending a run of three consecutive home defeats.

The resolute performance also demonstrated why Preston boasts the league's fourth-best defensive record with just 34 goals conceded from 31 games.

Sitting outside the playoffs on goal difference, Paul Heckingbottom know that a point on Saturday will move them above sixth-placed Wrexham, who are in FA Cup action on Friday.

They should fancy their chances of a positive result, having avoided defeat in each of their last four meetings with Watford, including a 1-1 draw in November's reverse fixture.

In fact, PNE ran out as comfortable 3-0 winners when they last played host to the Hornets in October 2024.

Watford, meanwhile, will travel to Deepdale with a new head coach after Still was named as Javi Gracia's successor earlier this week.

Still, the older brother of former Southampton boss Will Still, is something of a left-field appointment, considering this is his first senior managerial job since leaving Belgian side Kortrijk in 2023.

The 35-year-old has since spent time working as an assistant manager at Lens and Anderlecht, before he was recently put in caretaker charge of the Belgian giants, overseeing consecutive defeats before taking over the reins at Vicarage Road.

Still has been tasked with galvanising a team that have failed to win any of their last seven competitive matches since beating Birmingham City 3-0 on New Year's Day.

Despite being in poor form, the Hornets will still be harbouring hopes of troubling the playoffs, with just three points separating them from the top six ahead of Saturday's away trip.

That said, their first objective will be to end their wait for a goal, given the fact that they are at risk of going four consecutive league games without scoring for the first time in four years.

Preston North End Championship form:

W L L L D W

Preston North End form (all competitions):

L L L L D W

Watford Championship form:

L D D L D L

Team News

Preston are likely to be without the services of Daniel Iversen, Andrew Hughes, Robbie Brady and Brad Potts due to injury.

Winter addition Callum Lang could make his Preston debut this weekend, although he may not be fit to start due to his recent injury struggles.

Striker Milutin Osmajic is an option to start Saturday's fixture after completing his three-match ban.

As for the visitors, they are without the injured trio of Mattie Pollock, Rocco Vata and Hector Kyprianou, while Nestory Irankunda will serve the final game of his three-match ban.

The Hornets will be hoping that winter additions Edoardo Bove and Pierre Ekwah can prove their fitness in time for the away trip.

Udinese loanee Saba Goglichidze is pushing for a starting spot after coming off the bench to make his Watford debut last weekend.

Preston North End possible starting lineup:

Cornell; Storey, Gibson, Offiah; Small, McCann, Whiteman, Devine, Vukcevic; Osmajic, Dobbin

Watford possible starting lineup:

Selvik; Ngakia, Abankwah, Goglichidze, Bola; Mendy, Louza; Maama, Kayemba, Chakvetadze; Doumbia

We say: Preston North End 1-1 Watford

Watford will be desperate for a win in Still's first game in charge, but a four-game winless run against Preston suggests they will have their work cut out to pick up all three points.

That said, they have lost just one of their last six away league games, and we think they will do enough to leave Deepdale with a point.

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