Southampton vs Preston Prediction and Betting Tips: 22/5 Bet Builder at St Mary's

A rejuvenated Southampton bid to close the gap on the Championship's automatic promotion places when they host 10th-placed Preston at St Mary's on Tuesday night, live on Sky Sports at 8pm.

Southampton's chances of finishing in the top-2 suffered a hammer blow in the aftermath of March's international break following a desperately disappointing return of two points from three matches, which included a devastating last-gasp defeat to promotion rivals Ipswich.

However, two wins on the spin - coupled with dropped points for Ipswich, Leicester, and Leeds - have galvanised the south coast side and raised hopes that an automatic promotion charge is back on. 

A third straight win would take Southampton to 84 points, within three points of Leeds (3rd) with a game in hand and four points off Leicester, while leaders Ipswich are a further point ahead. It's worth noting that the Saints still need to travel to both Leicester and Leeds - the latter on the final day - so there's all to play for still!

BetMGM have installed Russell Martin's men as the red-hot 4/11 favourites to beat Preston on Tuesday night, while the visitors can be backed out at 13/2 to claim the spoils, with a draw available at 4/1.

Preston will be bidding to bounce back from a 1-0 defeat at home to Norwich, which looks to have punctured their play-off hopes, with the result leaving the club 10th and eight points off 6th spot with just four games remaining. Yet, a win would propel them up to 7th and keep their slim chances alive.

The confidence has come flooding back to Southampton following back-to-back wins over Coventry (2-1) and Watford (3-2), the second of which was achieved thanks to a 99th minute winner which sparked absolute bedlam inside St Mary's.

The Saints have been strong on home soil, where they've accumulated 14 wins from their last 17 matches in all competitions. They've both scored and conceded in their last seven games at the stadium, with their last four wins on their own patch all coming at a cost at the other end of the pitch.

Southampton (81) have scored the second most goals in the league this season, with Adam Armstrong (20) second in the race for the Golden Boot, meaning they'll always have chances in front of goal, especially at home.

However, only two clubs in the top-12 have conceded more goals than Southampton (54), who have kept just one clean sheet from their last 10 matches in all competitions. While they will often enjoy the lion's share of possession and carve out plenty of goalscoring opportunities, opposition teams will always fancy their chances of breaching their backline; as recent history shows with the Saints leaking in two or more goals in their last 10 games.

While I don't think Preston will cause an upset on Tuesday, I do think they will go down with a fight and at least a goal, with a Saints win and both teams to score my first bet at 39/20.

I've already spoken about Southampton's high goal count and vulnerability at the back, which makes both teams to score an obvious choice at 5/6 for the first selection in this 22/5 Bet Builder.

Saints striker Che Adams can be frustratingly inconsistent, but at the moment he's enjoying one of his purple patches in front of goal, having scored in three of his last four matches, including the recent wins over Coventry and Watford at St Mary's.

Southampton have taken 317 corners in 41 matches this season - comfortably the highest in the league - and are averaging 7.73 corners per match, while they've branched into double figures 10 times.

With the hosts needing a win, I expect them to dominate the game and create plenty of opportunities. As such over 6.5 corners shouldn't be too much to ask for at 8/15, which takes the Bet Builder to 22/5 with BetMGM.