Preston North End will be aiming to continue their good form over the festive period when they host Coventry City on Tuesday evening.
The Lilywhites are one of just four Championship sides to have won their last two games, and sit in 13th, six points above 18th-place Coventry.
Match preview
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Captain Alan Browne was the Preston hero on Boxing Day as his superb left-footed strike in the 96th-minute gave his team a 1-0 win over struggling Derby County.
Speaking honestly after the game, Alex Neil admitted that his side "didn't play well enough" despite earning the victory, so he will be keen to see an improved performance on Tuesday.
The Lancashire outfit are now aiming for a third successive league victory for the first time since November 2019 as they seek to end the calendar year on a high.
However their home record is among the worst in the division, as only three teams have picked up fewer points than Preston on home turf in the Championship this season.
That said, the Lilywhites have won their last two matches at Deepdale against playoff chasing Middlesbrough and Bristol City, and kept clean sheets in both games.
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Coventry travel to the North West with a poor away record, having won just once on the road so far this season – earlier this month at Wycombe Wanderers. They have not kept a clean sheet on their travels since September.
Mark Robins's side are proving hard to beat, though, and have lost only once in their last 10 matches. That statistic is padded out by the fact that they are draw specialists – only Millwall have had more games end level in the Championship so far this campaign.
Their latest draw was a 0-0 stalemate at home to Stoke City on Boxing Day, which Robins described as "a good point against really strong opposition".
Coventry have not beaten Preston in a league fixture since September 2007, and their only two previous wins at Deepdale came in cup fixtures in 1910 and 2000.
Preston North End Championship form: DWLLWW
Coventry City Championship form: WDWDLD
Team News
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Preston are hoping that Scott Sinclair will not be sidelined for too long after he was forced off with a hamstring problem against Derby.
It could pave the way for just a second league start of the season for Josh Harrop on the left wing, with few other alternatives.
Alex Neil may hand a recall to Ryan Ledson in the holding midfield role, having started veteran Paul Gallagher in the last three games.
After seven weeks out through injury, striker Matty Godden made his return to the Coventry team against Stoke, but Mark Robins could be tempted to rest him at Deepdale so as not to force him back too quickly.
Maxime Biamou and Amadou Bakayoko are both pushing to start upfront for the Sky Blues, with Callum O'Hare set to play just behind whoever the front two may be.
Godden's return from injury is timely, as Mark Robins revealed after the final whistle on Boxing Day that Tyler Walker would be sidelined for six weeks.
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Rudd; Fisher, Huntington, Davies, Earl; Browne, Ledson; Barkhuizen, Johnson, Harrop; Maguire
Coventry City possible starting lineup:
Wilson; Ostigard, McFadzean, Hyam; Dabo, Sheaf, Hamer, McCallum; O'Hare; Biamou, Godden
We say: Preston North End 0-0 Coventry City
Scott Sinclair's absence will be a big blow for Preston, who looked a little blunt going forward against Derby. Coventry are a hard team to break down anyway, while the Sky Blues may not have the attacking quality themselves to earn the win. We think a draw seems the most likely result.
Top betting tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Preston North End win with a probability of 40.95%. A win for Coventry City had a probability of 31.51% and a draw had a probability of 27.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Preston North End win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.82%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.41%) and 2-0 (7.65%). The likeliest Coventry City win was 0-1 (10.04%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.99%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 7.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Preston North End would win this match.
