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

Preston North End and Wolverhampton Wanderers square off on Saturday afternoon looking for their first win of the new Championship season.

While Preston suffered a 2-1 defeat at Lancashire rivals Bolton Wanderers, Wolves were held to a 2-2 draw by Blackburn Rovers.

Match preview

As one of the Championship title favourites, Wolves were expected to overcome Blackburn in the division's first game of 2026-27.

Instead, it took a Raul Jimenez penalty in added-on time to earn Cesar Peixoto's side a share of the spoils, arguably emphasising the competitiveness of this season's Championship.

With two of his key defenders sidelined for at least the next month, the Portuguese will quickly discover whether the required depth of his squad is there.

One positive for Wolves is a number of their World Cup representatives still getting up to speed, while Jordan James has arrived from Rennes.

This is Wolves' first trip to Deepdale since earning a 1-1 draw at the ground under Nuno Espirito Santo in February 2018.

Meanwhile, Preston were left reeling last weekend as they went down to a 2-1 loss at Bolton, last season's League One playoff winners.

Paul Heckingbottom would have been optimistic of a positive start having witnessed his side defy an early red card to progress past Huddersfield Town in the EFL Cup on penalties.

Instead, Preston were 2-0 down after 25 minutes at the Toughsheet Stadium, with a late goal from Jusef Wrabi proving to be a consolation.

Even at this early stage of the season, it feels as though Heckingbottom is fighting for his job. As well as just three wins from the last 17 games in all competitions, Preston lost their last four pre-season friendlies.

Preston North End Championship form:

Preston North End form (all competitions):

Wolverhampton Wanderers Championship form:

Wolverhampton Wanderers form (all competitions):

Team News

Andrija Vukcevic and Erabi are both in contention for appearances in the Preston XI after they combined for the goal at Bolton.

Andrew Hughes and one of Callum Lang or Milutin Osmajic could drop down to the substitutes' bench, depending on whether Heckingbottom sticks with a back four or reverts to a 3-5-2.

Lewis Gibson remains sidelined courtesy of the red card that he received against Huddersfield.

Kieran Trippier and Yerson Mosquera have both been ruled out for at least a month with injuries sustained during the game with Blackburn.

Jackson Tchatchoua and Nasser Djiga could deputise for the pair, the latter depending on whether Ladislav Krejci is fit and if Santiago Bueno will play when he is being linked with a move elsewhere.

New signing James will likely remain among the replacements, while Peixoto must decide whether to draft Jimenez into his starting lineup.

Preston North End possible starting lineup:

Iversen; Valentin, Storey, Lindsay, Vukcevic; McCann, Thompson; Devine, Lang, Burgzorg; Erabi

Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Bentley; Tchatchoua, Djiga, T Gomes, H Bueno; Andre, Munetsi; R.Gomes, Lopez, Mane; Armstrong

We say: Preston North End 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers

With two of Wolves' key defenders sidelined in the long term through injury, Preston will sense an opportunity. However, we cannot ignore Wolves' quality in attack, leading us to predict a hard-fought victory for the visitors.

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