Leeds United vs Preston North End Prediction & Betting Tips

Leeds United welcome Preston North End to Elland Road for the early kick-off in the Championship this Sunday. The hosts need the three-point haul to get themselves into the conversation for automatic promotion, whereas Preston will want a win to get into the top half of the table.

• Leeds to win @ 1/5 on William Hill
• Over 1.5 goals @ 1/7 on Paddy Power
• Both teams to score @ 11/10 on William Hill

These odds are accurate at the time of publishing and are subject to change.

This week’s Sunday action in the Championship sees Leeds take on Preston in an important game at the top. With the likes of Ipswich Town faltering, a win this weekend can get Leeds even closer to automatic promotion, but a loss could hand Preston a spot in the Play-off race.

Leeds currently sit fourth in the Championship after 27 games. The Whites have 15 wins, six draws and six losses, leaving them on 51 points, four points behind Southampton and seven points behind Ipswich in the automatic promotion spot.

Daniel Farke’s side have been on the front foot up top, scoring 48 goals so far this season, averaging 1.78 goals a game with their top scorer, Crysencio Summerville having the third most goals in the league. Leeds are even better at the other end of the pitch, only conceding 25 goals this season and keeping ten clean sheets, the second-best record in the Championship.

Preston, on the other hand, currently sit 12th in the Championship. In 27 games, Preston have 11 wins, five draws and 11 losses which leaves them on 38 points, equal with 11th place Norwich and only two points from the Play-offs.

Preston’s attack have faltered this season, scoring just 33 goals so far this season, ranking them 16th in the Championship. Their defence is even worse, conceding 44 goals already, averaging 1.63 goals conceded a game and keeping only four clean sheets.

Leeds and Preston have met 62 times in their histories, with the first meeting coming back in 1924. Preston have the better record in the fixture with 26 wins in comparison to Leeds’ 22 wins, with the other 14 games ending in a draw.

The last five games between the two have finished in two wins for Leeds, one win for Preston and two draws. However, in only two of these games have both teams not scored, the 3 - 0 and 2 - 0 wins for Leeds back in 2018 and 2019.

Leeds United Team News

Farke has the likes of Pascal Struijk, Karl Darlow, and Stuart Dallas unavailable, with Liam Cooper also a doubt. However, Sam Bryam, Joe Gelhardt and Ian Poveda could all return.

Fan favourite Luke Ayling will not feature in a Leeds shirt for the rest of the season having signed a six-month loan deal with Championship rivals Middlesbrough.

Leeds fans recently welcomed the news that their young prodigy, Archie Gray, has signed a new contract at Elland Road, meaning that he is now under contract till 2028.

Preston North End Team News

Ryan Lowe has no new injuries to manage this weekend but is likely to switch it up with Will Keane in from the start after his heroic performance last time out.

In their last five games in all competitions, Leeds have three wins and two losses.

The Boxing Day clash between these two sides did not end in Leeds’ favour. Goalkeeper Meslier was sent off early in the second half, and just minutes later Alan Browne gave Preston the lead. A penalty from Struijk drew Leeds level, but a last-minute goal from Liam Millar meant a ten-man Leeds slumped to a 2 - 1 loss.

It was another loss for Leeds the next time out. The Whites only managed one shot on target in 15 attempts with 63% of the possession as Grady Diangana scored the only goal of the game in the first half, West Brom taking home a big 1 - 0 win.

Leeds bounced back on New Year’s Day against a struggling Birmingham City. Patrick Bamford picked up his first goal of the season to give Leeds the lead and Daniel James doubled their lead going into halftime. Summerville grabbed another goal as Leeds started 2024 with a 3 - 0 win.

In the Third Round of the FA Cup, Leeds faced Peterborough. Ethan Ampadu opened the scoring in the first half and a potential goal of the season from Bamford gave Leeds the 2 - 0 lead early in the second half. Ampadu completed his brace in the 90th minute for another 3 - 0 win for Leeds.

The last time out for Leeds was back in the Championship against Cardiff City. It was another 3 - 0 win for Leeds with Bamford, James and Summerville once again on the scoresheet and Cardiff restricted to just one shot on target.

In their last five games in all competitions, Preston have two wins and three losses.

Preston took advantage of their extra player with goals from Browne and Millar giving Preston the 2 - 1 win over ten-man Leeds with Meslier sent off and The Whites restricted to just two shots on target despite having more of the possession.

However, the next time out wasn’t as successful for Preston against a struggling Sheffield Wednesday. Marvin Johnson gave Wednesday the early lead and despite having George Byers sent off in the 85th minute, The Owls held on for the 1 - 0 win.

Preston had more of the possession against Sunderland, but could only manage three shots on target. Sunderland only managed four shots on target, but Alex Pritchard and Nazariy Rusyn converted two for a 2 - 0 win over Preston.

In the Third Round of the FA Cup, Preston travelled to Stamford Bridge to take on Premier League Chelsea. Armando Broja, Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling and Enzo Fernandez all scored in the 4 - 0 win for Chelsea, where The Blues had 24 shots in comparison to Preston’s four shots.

The most recent outing for Preston saw them bounce back against Bristol City. Preston’s top scorer Keane added two more to his season tally, scoring twice in the second half for a 2 - 0 win for Preston.

Leeds had a tough festive period, but are back in form as they hunt down promotion back to the Premier League. This paired with Preston’s poor defensive record suggests a win for Leeds, but Preston are likely to sneak their way onto the scoresheet.

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Leeds vs Preston will be broadcasted on Sky Sports Football and Main Event, as well as being covered on the radio on BBC Five Live.

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