Preston take on the visitors Sheffield United in the round 1 of English Championship. The match will be played on Friday, August 9th at Deepdale (Preston).
Preston are mid-table team in this division. The Lilywhites were among the earliest teams to claim key trophies when the current English football tournaments were first established. However, in the nearly century and a half that followed, the team has added little to its achievements. Nowadays, they manage to maintain a relatively stable position in the Championship. Last season, Rob Lowe’s squad finished in 10th place—not close to relegation danger, but also far from challenging for anything more significant, with a considerable gap from the playoff zone. It’s unlikely they’ll make much progress this season, although they did manage to bring in an Icelandic national team player, Stefán Þórðarson.
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Sheffield United managed to step up in class before the start of last season, earning promotion back to the Premier League. But unlike their previous attempt, which saw them spend two years at that level, the club looked decidedly weak this time around. This is despite the fact that Paul Heckingbottom, who had guided them back up from the Championship, was replaced mid-season by Chris Wilder—a local legend and the same manager who previously led and kept the team in the Premier League. However, his efforts this time didn’t yield much; the newly promoted side finished last, in 20th place. Interestingly, Chris wasn’t dismissed and has been given another chance to work with his familiar squad, but now in the Championship. However, there have been some losses, most notably Cameron Archer, who was bought by Aston Villa. So far, no significant new signings have been made, although there’s still time to bolster the squad.
The Blades are unbeaten in their last six encounters. In the 2022/2023 season, also in the Championship, they won both matches. The Lilywhites look solid at this level. However, the Blades, having just returned from the Premier League, are expected to be at least nominal favorites in the early matches. Therefore, a neutral option of "total over 2.5 goals" seems reasonable.
Prediction for the match: Over 2.5 scored goals.
