Stoke City vs Preston North End; Sky Bet Championship
Stoke City vs Preston North End. Sky Bet Championship.
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Stoke vs Preston preview
Friday 25 January 2019 10:53, UK
Stoke have no fresh availability issues ahead of their Sky Bet Championship clash with Preston at the Bet365 Stadium.
Mame Diouf could make his return to action after being on compassionate leave. Another player who may be back involved is fellow forward Bojan Krkic, who was ill last week. The Spaniard's last appearance came in a 2-2 draw with QPR on November 24.
The Potters secured their first win under new boss Nathan Jones last time out as they beat Leeds 2-1, their third match in all competitions since the Welshman's appointment.
Joe Rafferty could make his Preston debut after joining from Rochdale on Wednesday. Fellow defender Josh Earl is available again having been suspended for the 4-1 win at QPR on Saturday.
Skipper Tom Clarke (calf) will be assessed, and former Stoke forward Louis Moult is in contention after missing the last six matches due to a hamstring issue. Calum Woods has joined Bradford on loan and Callum Robinson (hamstring), Josh Harrop and Billy Bodin (both knee) all remain sidelined.
Opta stats
After keeping three consecutive clean sheets against Preston between 2004 and 2006, Stoke have since conceded in each of their last five league games against them, shipping nine in total.
Preston are winless in their last seven away league games against Stoke City (D4 L3). Their last away league victory against the Potters came in December 1998 (1-0).
Stoke City have won four of their last five home league games (L1), as many victories as in their previous 18 such games (P16 W4 D6 L8).
Preston North End have conceded in 24 of their 28 Championship matches this season; only bottom side Ipswich Town (25) have conceded in more games in the division.
Stoke City's Joe Allen (six goals) has equalled his best ever goal scoring season in the league (also six in 2016-17) - the Welshman has never scored more within a single season in England's top four tiers.
No player has created more chances in the Championship this season without registering an assist than Preston's Tom Barkhuzien (29 chances created, 0 assists).
Prutton's prediction
That was a big, big win for Stoke last week. Not only was it over the Championship leaders in Leeds but it was also vital for Nathan Jones to get off the mark as quickly as possible.
Preston are so smart at recruiting from the lower leagues, with Brad Potts and Jayden Stockley both looked like good additions to Alex Neil's squad. I fancy them for a point.
David Prutton predicts: 1-1 (5/1 with Sky Bet)
