Match Preview: West Bromwich Albion v Preston North End (Saturday, 12.30pm)

Preston North End make the journey to the Hawthorns to play West Bromwich Albion on Saturday lunchtime looking to pick up points to end their four-game losing streak.

Preston’s struggles have left them with just four points from their last six Championship matches, while their opponents have earned five from a possible 18.

In Alex Palmer, West Bromwich can rely on one of the league’s safest pair of hands. He has kept 17 clean sheets in his 45 appearances this season, and only one other ‘keeper – Leeds United’s Illan Meslier – has been able to prevent the opposition scoring on more occasions in the Championship.

In Preston’s net, Freddie Woodman has 10 clean sheets in 43 games. He has conceded a goal every 70 minutes, 30% more often than the 92 minutes between goals for Alex Palmer.

In the last 10 years, West Bromwich and Preston have played each other on nine occasions. West Bromwich won six of them, Preston two, and they drew once.

On average, the Baggies scored 1.9 goals and the Lilywhites 0.8 in those matches.

Their last meeting was on September 30, when West Bromwich won 4-0 away.

With 67 goals in 45 games so far this season, Albion are scoring more than average in the league with 1.5 goals per game. And they are conceding fewer than average, letting in 47 goals at a rate of 1.0 per game.

North End, meanwhile, are below average scorers, with 1.2 goals per game, compared to a league average of 1.3. They have conceded 1.4 goals per game.

The Baggies are sixth in the table after 45 games, of which they have won 20 and drawn 12, earning 72 points.

The Lilywhites are four places behind the home side in 10th, with 18 wins and nine draws putting them on 63 points.

West Bromwich’s last match was on Saturday, a 3-0 loss against Sheffield Wednesday.

Preston lost 3-0 against Leicester City last time out, on Monday.

Saturday’s match will be refereed by Steve Martin, who has taken charge of five Championship games so far this season, issuing no red cards and booking 27 players. He has awarded one penalty.

He is yet to oversee a match featuring either West Bromwich or Preston this season.

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West Bromwich Albion v Preston North End
Championship | The Hawthorns
Saturday, 4 May 2024 @ 12.30pm

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