Our prediction for this Championship match:
Stoke City
Match Time & Date:
03/01/2022
16:00
Prediction: 1-1
Preston
Stoke City welcome Preston to their Bet365 Stadium in the first game of the year. The Potters aim to kick off 2022 in style, but this game will be anything but a walk in the park for the home side. Keep in mind that all Bursik, Powell, Sawyers, Souttar, and Thompson have been struggling with injuries of late. The Lilywhites, on the other hand, quickly bounced back from a 1-0 loss to Blackburn, with the team beating Barnsley at home ground.
Preston have not been in action since December 11, 2021, meaning that tired legs should not prove to be a problem for the away side. Anyhow, a close encounter is on the cards at Bet365 Stadium, and we believe that punters from all around the globe can find value in betting on draw. In the first half of the season the two teams played out a 1-1 draw.
Highlighted Player (Steven Fletcher):
Steven Fletcher is a professional footballer who plays for Sheffield Wednesday. After ending his loan spell with Marseille, he joined the Owls on a free transfer in July 2016. Steven Fletcher was born in Shrewsbury, England on 26 March, 1987 and he began his youth career at Hibernian.
He made his debut for the Scottish outfit on 10 April, 2004 in a 3-0 win over Kilmarnock. After spending three years at Burnley and Wolverhampton Fletcher signed a four-year deal with Sunderland for a fee of £12 million. The left-footed attacker scored 11 goals in 28 appearances for the Black Cats in the 2012/2013 Premier League campaign and he was struggling in front of goal in the 2013/2014 season, scoring no more than three league goals.
Steven Fletcher was eligible to play for both England and Scotland, but he decided to represent his mother’s home country. Fletcher made his Scotland debut in March 2008, in a friendly against Croatia. He did well to provide an assist for Kenny Miller, who scored the equaliser for the Scotts (1-1).
Highlighted Team (Preston):
Preston North End or Preston were founded in 1880. The Lilywhites or the Invincibles play their home games at Deepdale, the stadium that was built in 1875 and opened three years later.
In 1889 Preston won their first FA Cup trophy and they did well to beat Huddersfield Town in the final of the 1938 FA Cup final. However, the club’s biggest success came in 1889 and 1890 when they won back-to-back domestic trophies (First Division).
Preston have yet to win the League Cup title, but they were runners-up in 1888, 1922, 1937, 1954, 1964. Preston’s main rivals are Blackpool and the two teams square off against each other in the West Lancashire derby. In their first ever meeting in the West Lancashire derby (1901) Preston recorded a 4-1 win over Blackpool.
Burnley and Blackburn Rovers are considered Preston’s big rivals as well. The colour of Preston’s shirts is white and they wear dark blue shorts.
