Preston v Bristol City: Championship predictions, free betting tips & TV details

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Preston v Bristol City on Friday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Football, 8pm Friday

Best bet

Preston
1pt 11-8 Hills

Team news

Preston
Louis Moult and Billy Bodin (both knee), Ben Pearson (ankle) and Patrick Bauer (Achilles) all remain out. Brad Potts may return.

Bristol City
Jamie Paterson, Christ Brunt, Andreas Weimann, Jay Dasilva, Nathan Baker, Alfie Mawson, Joe Williams, Liam Walsh and Steven Sessegnon are all sidelined through injury. Famara Diedhiou is suspended and club captain Tomas Kalas needs to be assessed.

Match preview

Inconsistency continues to hamper Preston’s progress and their form at Deepdale has been dreadful, but they may not get a better chance of beating a Bristol City team who are pushing for the Championship playoff places.

Preston kicked off December in style by collecting seven points from three games, a run which showed their strengths as they recorded a 3-2 win at second-placed Bournemouth before readily swatting aside highflying Middlesbrough in a 3-0 home romp.

However, back-to-back defeats at Luton and Barnsley have followed and that has been the tale of Preston’s season, in which no two performances have ever been the same.

Alex Neil will demand a response from his players and he should get it against a Bristol City outfit plagued by injuries and, quite simply, there for the taking.

The Robins are expected to be without 12 players for the trip to Deepdale and although some are more key than others, they are still without Jamie Paterson, Jay Dasilva, Chris Brunt, Andreas Weimann and the suspended Famara Diedhiou.

Throw in that Bristol City have lost four of their last six league games and managed only one goal in four outings, then Preston should be optimistic about their chances.

Dean Holden’s visitors have suffered consecutive 2-0 defeats against Rotherham and Millwall and despite the mediocrity of opposition, they were toothless in attack and deserved the disappointment that followed.

City conceded 35 shots across those two games. They forced just two shots on target at 20th-placed Rotherham and managed only one at home to a Millwall side who were on a winless run of ten and slumped in 17th in the table.

Preston remain inconsistent but they can take full advantage of Bristol City's vulnerabilities.

Key stat

Preston are unbeaten in 14 league meetings with Bristol City.

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