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Preston to hold onto play-off spot with win over Reading

Preston North End vs Reading - 29/12/2019

Preston to hold onto play-off spot with win over Reading
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Preston North End extended their unbeaten run in the Championship to four matches on Boxing Day when they secured a valuable and creditable point in a 1-1 draw at Elland Road against Leeds United.

After having suffered a worrying 4-match losing streak which left Preston wobbling and their play-off hopes hanging in the balance, Sunday’s hosts have since steadied the ship by recording back-to-back home wins against Fulham and Luton Town both in 2-1 victories while also picking up points on the road with draws at Cardiff City and aforementioned Leeds United.

Although results away from home continue to elude Alex Neil’s side, Preston have been pretty consistent at Deepdale where they’ve won 4 of their last 5 matches which includes victories over Blackburn Rovers, Huddersfield Town, Fulham and Luton Town.

Indeed, Preston have lost just 1 of their last 14 matches on home turf in the Championship and this impressive sequence of results includes winning 10 of these 14 matches as well, so momentum is well and truly in Preston’s favour ahead of this clash.

Reading’s revival continued under manager, Mark Bowen, on Boxing Day as The Royals grabbed a vital 1-0 home win against QPR which became Reading’s second win on the trot following a 3-0 romp against downward-spiralling Derby County, with both wins being achieved at their Madejski Stadium.

Reading also picked up points on the road at Barnsley and Stoke City in 1-1 and 0-0 draws respectively, and the visitors have generally held their own on the road since Bowen took over the reigns at the Berkshire club.

However, the harsh reality for Reading is that The Royals have won just 1 of their last 8 matches on their travels this season in the Championship while the bigger picture also indicates problems on the road for Reading as they’ve captured just 2 wins out of their last 16 matches away from home.

In addition, with just 3 clean sheets from their last 16 away matches on the road in the Championship, Reading look to have their work cut out ahead of this difficult looking trip up to Lancashire to face a solid Preston North End outfit in their own backyard at Deepdale.

Preston should therefore take the spoils here.

Home team
Away team
Probability %
1X2
Pred
Correct score
Avg. goals
Weather conditions
Coef.
Score
Live
coef.
CH
433126
1
2 - 0
2.37
1.90
1.90 3.58 4.35 -1 1 1
FT
0 - 2(0 - 2)
-
- - -
Championship Regular Season
OVERALL TABLE PTS GP W D L +/-
1
Ipswich Town 89 43 26 11 6 32
2
Leicester City 88 42 28 4 10 41
3
Leeds United 87 43 26 9 8 42
4
Southampton 84 42 25 9 8 30
5
West Bromwich 72 43 20 12 11 24
6
Norwich City 71 43 21 8 14 16
7
Hull City 65 42 18 11 13 8
8
Coventry City 63 42 17 12 13 14
9
Middlesbrough 63 43 18 9 16 5
10
Preston North End 63 43 18 9 16 -4
11
Cardiff City 59 43 18 5 20 -12
12
Bristol City 58 43 16 10 17 4
13
Sunderland 56 43 16 8 19 2
14
Swansea City 53 43 14 11 18 -9
15
Watford 52 43 12 16 15 1
16
Millwall 50 43 13 11 19 -13
17
Blackburn Rovers 49 43 13 10 20 -14
18
Plymouth Argyle 48 43 12 12 19 -8
19
QPR 47 43 12 11 20 -17
20
Stoke City 47 43 12 11 20 -19
21
Birmingham City 45 43 12 9 22 -16
22
Huddersfield 44 43 9 17 17 -23
23
Sheffield Wednesday 44 43 12 8 23 -31
24
Rotherham 23 43 4 11 28 -53

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