Plymouth Argyle vs Preston North End: Betting Odds & Prediction

Relegation-threatened Plymouth Argyle welcome promotion hopefuls Preston North End to Home Park on Saturday afternoon. 

Both sides have plenty to play for at both ends of the Sky Bet Championship table, with kick-off set for 3pm local time on the South Coast. 

Recent Form

Plymouth Argyle

Ian Foster's side head into the match on the back of a 1-1 away draw at Blackburn Rovers. The away side will be disappointed not to have secured all three points after the hosts were reduced to ten men with 35 minutes remaining. The result leaves them in 17th and just three points above the relegation places after 37 matches. 

Plymouth have averaged 1.56 points per match in home games this season (W8, D4, L6). They have however lost their last three league matches at home against Ipswich Town, West Bromwich Albion and Leeds United. All three of those sides are albeit in the play-off places with ambitions of playing Premier League football next season. 

Despite the losses, Plymouth still boast a positive goal difference in their home matches, having scored 38 and conceded 32. They are also exceeding their expected goal (xG) tally of 1.49 in home matches, averaging 2.11 goals scored per home game so far. 

Their defensive exploits are a cause for concern, however. In their 18 home matches, Plymouth have amassed an expected goal against (xGA) tally of 1.47 yet have conceded an average of 1.78 goals heading into the Preston game. 

They've also kept three clean sheets in their home games in the league so far, while conceding over 2.5 goals in 28%. Plymouth's 18 home games in the league have averaged a total of 3.89 goals up until this point.

Preston North End

Ryan Lowe's Preston side maintain hopes of securing passage to the Premier League for the first time. Sitting in tenth position, Preston find themselves five points off the play-off places but have played a game less than the majority of sides around them. Last time out, they suffered a damaging 2-1 home defeat to Stoke City. 

Despite an impressive home record, Preston have struggled on the road. Averaging 1.29 points per away game (W6, D4, L7), Preston have conceded 23 goals while only scoring 20. They have however won their two most recent away outings against Coventry and Cardiff respectively. 

They've exceeded their xG of 0.8 on the road, scoring an average of 1.18 goals so far, whilst also matching their xGA of 1.35 goals.

Lowe's team have kept five clean sheets on their travels, with their away games averaging a total of 2.53 games thus far. 

Prediction

Preston have clearly been the better side overall this season, but their shaky away form coupled with Plymouth's surprising home record makes this match a risky pick on the moneyline.

Both sides' games this season have however averaged a lot of goals, with another high-scoring encounter expected this weekend. 

OddsNow's Pick: Over 2.75+ goals scored (11/10 @ LiveScoreBet)