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

Preston North End and Stoke City square off at Deepdale on Friday night looking for a win that could prove pivotal come the end of the season.

Although these two teams sit in 17th and 13th place in the Championship table respectively, they are still on the fringes of unlikely relegation scraps and playoff bids.

Match preview

After the 2-0 win at Bristol City on January 4, everything appeared set up for Preston to maintain a playoff bid long into the second half of the campaign.

However, a run of one win, six points and eight defeats across a 12-game period has left Paul Heckingbottom with work to do to stay in the division.

While a nine-point advantage remains over the bottom three, the feeling is that Preston may still need at least one more win to get over the line.

As it stands, they have lost five of their last six games, a run that has included conceding 10 goals across their most recent four fixtures.

Furthermore, Preston have earned just seven victories from their 19 matches at Deepdale, the only two in 2026 being versus bottom-placed Sheffield Wednesday and struggling Portsmouth.

Stoke make the trip to the North-West sitting just two points ahead of Preston, yet Mark Robins' team will feel on the cusp of an unlikely playoff push.

Sixth-placed Wrexham's defeat to Watford on Tuesday night has brought a number of teams back into the race, the Potters trailing by nine points with eight matches left.

Robins has witnessed his team net three goals in each of their recent home fixtures against Ipswich Town (3-3 draw) and Watford (3-1 win), making it eight points from six Championship games.

Nevertheless, Stoke have performed poorly away from the Bet365 Stadium of late, suffering three successive defeats and failing to win any of their five matches on unfamiliar territory since a 2-0 triumph at Norwich City on January 4.

Despite the momentum that Stoke can extend from a win at Deepdale, defeat would see Preston move ahead of them and leave the Staffordshire outfit at risk of being dragged into their own battle to avoid relegation to League One.

Preston North End Championship form:

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Stoke City Championship form:

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Team News

Heckingbottom will inevitably make changes to his Preston XI after the 2-0 defeat to Norwich last time out.

Pol Valentin, Alfie Devine and Robbie Brady could all be provided with opportunities, either in a wide area or central midfield.

While Ali McCann is expected to miss out through injury, Milutin Osmajic may feature if he has gotten over a hamstring issue.

As for Stoke, Robins may be against making any alterations to his starting lineup after the win over Watford.

Although Ben Gibson and Sam Gallagher are options to play in defence and the final third respectively, the experienced duo are likely to remain on the substitutes' bench.

Of all the players on Stoke's lengthy injury list, only Bosun Lawal is in contention to return to the squad after featuring in training from the start of the week.

Preston North End possible starting lineup:

Iversen; Valentin, Storey, Lindsay, Hughes, Brady; Devine, Whiteman, Thompson; Jebbison, Dobbin

Stoke City possible starting lineup:

Simkin; Tchamadeu, Talovierov, Phillips, Bocat; Nzonzi, Rigo; Manhoef, Bae, Thomas; Smit

We say: Preston North End 1-2 Stoke City

Although neither of these teams have been in good form, we cannot ignore Preston's alarming drop-off since the turn of the year. With that in mind, Stoke's extra need to push for all three points could secure a late victory.

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