Portsmouth vs Preston North End Prediction and Betting Tips

The EFL Championship returns with a fresh set of fixtures as Portsmouth and Preston North End lock horns at Fratton Park on Saturday. While Paul Heckingbottom’s men have enjoyed a solid start to the new campaign, they are without a win in their last eight away matches in the league and will be looking to end this poor run.

Portsmouth failed to find their feet last weekend as they played out a 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion when the two teams squared off at the Hawthorns.

John Mousinho’s side have now gone three consecutive matches without a win, claiming one draw and losing twice, including a 2-1 defeat against Reading in the EFL Cup first round on August 12.

Having kicked off the new season with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Oxford United on August 9, Portsmouth have picked up four points from the first nine available so far.

On the other hand, Preston North End were dumped out of the EFL Cup in the second round on Tuesday when they fell to a 3-2 defeat against Wrexham on home turf.

Heckingbottom’s men now turn their attention to the Championship, where they kicked off the new season with a 1-1 draw against Queens Park Rangers on August 9, before claiming back-to-back victories over Leicester City and Ipswich Town.

While Preston will be looking to bounce back this weekend, results on the road offer little optimism as they have failed to win their last eight away matches in the league since February’s 1-0 victory over Norwich City.

Portsmouth vs Preston North End Head-To-Head and Key Numbers

With 34 wins from the last 82 meetings between the sides, Preston North End boast a superior record in the history of this fixture.
Portsmouth have picked up 23 wins in that time, while the spoils have been shared on 25 occasions.
Preston are on a run of eight back-to-back away matches without a win in the league, losing five and picking up three draws since February’s 1-0 victory at Norwich City.
Portsmouth are unbeaten in seven of their last eight Championship home games, claiming three wins and four draws since April 12.

Portsmouth vs Preston North End Prediction

The two meetings between Portsmouth and Preston last season saw a combined seven goals scored, and another action-packed contest is on the cards this weekend.

Preston have picked up seven points from the opening three games, but Portsmouth have proven tough to beat at home, and we predict they will hold out for a share of the spoils.

Prediction: Portsmouth 1-1 Preston North End

Portsmouth vs Preston North End Betting Tips

Tip 1: Result - Draw

Tip 2: Both sides to score - Yes (Both sides have scored in four of their last five meetings)

Tip 3: Over 4.5 cards - No (There have also been fewer than five bookings in the last six clashes between the two teams)

About the author

Joshua is a European and international football writer at Sportskeeda who covers news and match previews. He fell in love with the sport watching Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o win titles at club and international level, and his passion for the sport led him to become a professional football writer. He has an overall professional experience of 5 years.

Joshua supports Chelsea at club level, having witnessed a number of African stars break records with the club. Drogba’s equalizing header and match-winning shootout penalty for Chelsea against Bayern Munich in the 2012 UEFA Champions League final left a last impact on him. His favorite player is Eden Hazard and favorite manager is Jose Mourinho, who gave him the most joyous days as a Blues supporter. He believes that Cristiano Ronaldo is unlucky to be born in Messi’s era and favors the Argentine in the G.O.A.T. debate.

Joshua also follows the Portuguese Primeira Liga and the Nigeria Professional Football League and loves to play football during his free time. Having attained a B.Sc. in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Ibadan, he employs his problem-solving skills in crafting articles while doing extensive research to ensure each article is well thought out and crafted.

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