Stoke City vs Preston North End Prediction: Stoke has been inconsistent this season

Stoke City will welcome Preston North End at bet365 Stadium in Gameweek 5 of the English Championship. Stoke has been inconsistent this season. Who will come out on top after 90 minutes?

In the second round of the EFL Cup, Stoke achieved an impressive victory against Rotherham, winning 6-1 at their home ground in Staffordshire. Wouter Burger, a new addition to the team, scored his first goal for Stoke just two minutes into the game, and the team scored four more goals before halftime. In the next round, Stoke will face Premier League team Bournemouth, but their focus now turns back to the Championship, where they have had a mixed start to the season. Despite home wins against Rotherham and Watford, Stoke has suffered defeats away at Ipswich Town and Millwall, leaving them in 10th place in the Championship standings after four matches. Andre Vidigal, a Portuguese winger, has been a standout player for Stoke, scoring three goals in four league matches so far.

Travers; McNally, Wilmot, Stevens; Hoever, Laurent, Burger, Johnson, Tymon; Vidigal, Wesley

Preston secured their third consecutive victory in the Championship last Saturday, defeating Swansea City 2-1 at Deepdale in Lancashire. However, claiming all three points was not an easy task. Swansea took the lead in the first half courtesy of Harrison Ashby, a loanee from West Ham United. But second-half goals from Andrew Hughes and Duane Holmes helped Preston snatch the win.

In recent years, Ryan Lowe's team has been close to the playoff race, and fans are hoping that this season will be the one where they go the distance. Currently, Preston is in fifth place in the Championship, along with four other teams that have remained unbeaten in the first four matches of the 2023-24 season.

If Preston manages to secure another victory at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday, it would mark their fourth consecutive win. The last time they achieved such a streak was at the end of the 2020-21 season.

Woodman; Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; Potts, Browne, Ledson, Best; Holmes, Frokjaer-Jensen; Keane

Up until now in the season, Stoke City has shown inconsistency overall. However, they have managed to achieve four consecutive victories at the bet365 Stadium in various competitions, scoring a total of 13 goals. On the other hand, Preston has remained undefeated in the second tier. Nonetheless, we anticipate that Lowe's team will face their first loss of the campaign in Staffordshire on Saturday afternoon. We can also expect under 2.5 goals.