Southampton return to Championship action this week when they travel to Deepdale to face Ryan Lowe’s Preston North End on Wednesday.
Southampton aims to surpass Preston North End in the Championship standings as they face off at Deepdale on Wednesday evening. Russell Martin’s team has gone unbeaten in their last four matches and climbed to fifth place after a thrilling 2-1 victory over Hull City at the MKM Stadium last weekend.
The Saints currently occupy the sixth spot, just one place and one point behind Preston. This comes after Preston’s strong start to the season, with six wins in their first seven matches. However, they have experienced a sharp decline, going winless in their last five games, including heavy losses to the current leaders, Leicester City and West Bromwich Albion.
Based on recent form, it appears that Southampton is favored to secure all three points, a sentiment shared by Sky Sports pundit David Prutton. Prutton, who had a 94-game stint with Southampton from 2002 to 2007, believes his former team will face a tough challenge but predicts they will win the game 1-0.
Prutton remarked, “Preston’s winless streak has extended to five matches now. Despite their current top-six position, their standing in the league could quickly slip unless they rediscover the art of winning.”
“Southampton has been on an impressive streak lately, except for a minor setback against Rotherham. They’ve secured 10 out of the last 12 points and are determined to close the gap on the top two teams. I believe they will narrowly win this upcoming match.”
If Southampton wins at Deepdale, they could potentially jump two places in the league standings, landing them in third place. However, this relies on Leeds United failing to beat Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium at the same time as Southampton’s match against Preston.
On the other hand, Sunderland, currently positioned just below Southampton in sixth place, will be facing the league leaders, Leicester City, on Tuesday. If Sunderland manages to hand the Foxes their second league defeat of the season, they will surpass Southampton in the rankings. Even a draw would be sufficient to move them into fifth place, thanks to their superior goal difference compared to Southampton’s.
