Championship 
Deepdale braces itself for a potentially pivotal Championship clash on Saturday as Preston North End hosts in-form Hull City. Both sides are embroiled in the playoff race, but with contrasting fortunes.
The home side currently find themselves in 8th position in the Championship Table after gaining 52 points from their 34 league games this season.
In their last league outing, Preston recorded a comfortable 3-0 victory over Coventry. The Lilywhites stormed out of the gates, with Emil Riis heading home inside the first minute from a corner. Preston doubled their lead through Will Keane on 20 minutes, capitalising on a defensive error.
Coventry's woes continued as Bobby Thomas turned the ball into his own net just before halftime to seal the victory for Preston. The win extended their unbeaten run against Coventry to 21 games and solidified their place in the Championship playoff race.
Hull are currently sitting in 6th position in the Championship table after they have picked up 55 points from their 34 league games this season. The Tigers have won 16, drawn 7 and lost 11 games.
Hull were held to a frustrating draw against West Brom last time out. Oscar Estupiñán put the Tigers ahead on the half-hour mark, tapping home from close range after a flowing move.
West Brom responded through Brandon Thomas-Asante in the second half, who slotted in after a well-worked counter-attack. Both sides pushed for a winner but ultimately had to settle for a point, ensuring Hull remain unbeaten at home in their last three outings.
The fixture of Preston vs Hull has a long and storied history, with the two sides having first met in 1912 in the League Division Two. In total, these two sides have met on 70 occasions, with Preston having the better record, winning 30 games compared to Hull’s 25.
It was Hull who came out on top of a tight encounter when these two sides met earlier on in the campaign in the reverse fixture. Jaden Philogene's powerful second-half strike secured the win for the Tigers, their second consecutive victory. Preston had penalty appeals waved away in the second half, but ultimately fell short against a determined Hull side.
These sides are closely matched at the bookies ahead of this weekend’s game, however it is Hull who are narrowly favoured and are currently priced @ 6/4, whilst a home win for Preston is priced @ 7/4 and a draw is @ 23/10.
We are backing under 1.5 goals in the game because in recent years this has been a close fixture where both teams struggle to score. In the last four meetings between the two sides, all four games have resulted in less than 1.5 goals as just two goals were scored across all four games.