Preston North End vs. Blackburn Predictions: Best Bets from Deepale

The final bit of this weekend's Championship action takes place on Monday at Deep Dale and pits Preston North End against Blackburn Rovers.

The last time these sides met it was box-office, there were eight cards- two of which were red- a 89th minute penalty and a 90+8th minute equaliser.

The hosts were comprehensively beaten last Monday by Fulham, in a game where the Cottagers were promoted back to the Premier League. 

Ryan Lowe could look to rotate here with both Greg Cunningham and Sean Maguire coming back into the squad, the former at left wing back and the latter up-top. 

The hosts' form has been patchy, drawing four of their last ten, losing two and winning four. They go off around 17/10 vs Blackburn but the value may be elsewhere as they have only won 30% when priced accordingly. 

As for the visitors, their form has slumped drastically since the turn of the year which is why they have almost fallen out of the play-off picture. Rovers have taken just 16 points from a possible 57 in their 19 games since the turn of the year during which time they have fallen from third to ninth in the table.

Tony Mowbray could make two changes since their 0-1 defeat at Stoke last time out with John Buckley and Joe Rothwell both in contention for recalls.

The visitors league fixtures this campaign have averaged just under 2.3 goals per game but in 2022 they have scored the fewest goals in the division with only ten goals. Over that 19 game period, their games have averaged just 1.4 goals as only Peterborough and Barnsley have taken fewer points. 

Therefore, at even money, I think siding with a lack of goals by taking both teams to score ‘No’ makes sense here.   

This is a bet that has clicked in 57% of North Ends games since Ryan Lowe took charge, including five of their last seven.

This is a bit of a derby and given how the last clash went in terms of cards, I think it is worth having  a few arrows in the player card markets here. 

Jeremy Simpson has the whistle and as far as Championship referees go, he is not exactly the most card happy averaging just 3.42 per game. However, given the occasion- and the presence of the TV cameras- I think it is worth overlooking this. 

With 12 cards, Ben Whiteman tops Preston’s charts for ill-discipline this season, in fact, only Matt Crooks, Gustavo Hamer and Sam Field have picked up more in the second tier this campaign. Unsurprisingly, he also ranks high for tackles (2) and fouls per game (1.2) and he was also booked when these sides last met. 

I think combining him to be booked with John Buckly at 12.5/1 with Betfair is the way to go. Buckley has accumulated eleven bookings this season, the joint most of anyone for Rovers. 

Best of luck if you are backing any of these selections and please remember to gamble responsibly.