Southampton vs Preston North End: How to Watch, Betting Odds & Prediction
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Promotion hopefuls Southampton and Preston North End meet at St. Mary's Stadium on Wednesday evening with both retaining hopes of playing Premier League football next season.
The hosts sit in fourth on 70 points while Preston find themselves three points adrift of the play-off spots, sitting in eighth on 53 points.
How to Watch Southampton vs Preston in the UK:
UK viewers can watch the match live on the Sky Sports Football Red Button. Kick-off is set for 7:45pm UK time.
Recent Form:
Southampton head into the match on the back of an enthralling 4-3 away victory over Birmingham City. Joe Aribo's 96th minute winner secured the three points for the Saints to keep them within five points of the automatic play-off positions.
Russell Martin's side had lost their last three games in all competitions prior to the game at St. Andrew's. Home losses to Millwall and Hull City threatened to derail their aspirations for a Premier League return, but a win over Preston on Wednesday will reaffirm their push for a top two finish in the Championship.
Preston meanwhile haven't tasted defeat in their last six league games. Their most recent outing saw them draw 0-0 with Hull City at home who harbour their own aspirations of playing in England's top flight, currently sitting in sixth.
Team News:
Southampton defender Kyle Walker-Peters is out until mid-March with a muscle injury. Winger Ryan Fraser, forward Ross Stewart and left-back Juan Larios are also expected to miss out.
Preston will be without midfielder Brad Potts (hamstring) and left-back Kian Best (ankle). Both are expected to return by mid-March.
Betting Odds:
The home side enter as strong favourites, with UniBET offering a Saints victory at 21/50 (an implied probability of 70.42%). Despite their positive form, Preston come in as heavy underdogs at 7/1 with BetFair (an implied probability of just 12.5%).
Bet365 offer a draw at 4/1, carrying an implied probability of 20%.
Prediction:
Southampton need a win to keep pressure on the automatic play-off spots, but Preston's positive form heading into the match cannot be ignored. OddsNow is predicting a draw with both teams finding the net at St. Mary's.