Preston North End vs Sheffield United Prediction, Tips, Preview

The Championship is back with a bang on Friday night as we’re treated to not just one, but two fixtures. One of those sees Preston North End take on newly relegated Sheffield United.

Can the Blades make a winning start to life back in the second tier? Or will the more settled Championship side get the job done on home soil? All will be revealed at Deepdale Stadium. Read on for our Preston North End vs Sheffield United predictions.

Preston North End vs Sheffield United prediction

For the Preston North End vs Sheffield United match prediction, we believe the final score will be a 2-1 win for Preston based on our analysis.

Having dropped out of the Premier League, the pressure will now be on the Blades to perform at this level but they’re up against a very settled Preston outfit, one that picked up plenty of good results at home last term.

See below for our Preston North End vs Sheffield United predictions and tips:

Kieffer Moore to Score @ 5/2 with bet365
Will Keane to Score @ 5/2 with bet365

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Preston North End vs Sheffield United betting odds

The early betting below shows that the visitors are the favourites to get the win here, with an implied probability of 42.1%.

The table below shows the implied probability behind the Win/Draw/Win odds for this match, alongside our adjusted probabilities and the differences.

Bet	Odds	Implied probability	Our adjusted probability	Difference
Preston	15/8	34.8%	35.7%	+0.9%
Sheffield United	11/8	42.1%	34.8%	-7.3%
Tie	9/4	30.8%	29.5%	-1.3%

Preston North End vs Sheffield United head-to-head statistics

This will be the first time that the pair have met since the 2022/23 Championship season, during which Sheffield United beat Preston both home and away. Interestingly, Friday’s hosts haven’t picked up a win in this fixture since 2018.

Preston North End vs Sheffield United preview

This match will be played on 09/08/2024 at Deepdale Stadium. Kick off will be at 20:00 GMT.

As one of the first grounds to see action during the 2024/25 campaign, Deepdale will likely be rocking on Friday evening. The home fans will be hoping that the Lilywhites start the season on the front foot, though doing so against one of the Premier League dropouts may not be too easy.

Last season was a solid one for the hosts, who’ll be looking to kick on this time around and build on a very decent finish of 10th.

Under manager Ryan Lowe, who has been in charge since 2021, PNE have a level of stability that many Football League teams would kill for right now. Maybe that will count for plenty.

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As well as Lowe, the hosts also have quite a settled playing squad, one that has seen few comings and goings. Perhaps that will also have a positive effect. We’ll soon see.

As far as the Blades are concerned, this season is all about rebuilding, and they’ll be rebuilding under a man who knows all about making progress with this club.

Chris Wilder guided Sheffield United from League One to the Premier League not that long ago, so they’ve certainly got a good one at the helm.

As has been the case when they’ve been at this level in recent years, the Blades probably won’t be too far away this season. They’ve lost players, sure, but they’ve still got a very decent Championship squad on paper, especially after making some useful acquisitions.

Regardless of what happens at Deepdale on Friday evening, Sheffield United will likely be a team to take seriously this season.

Preston North End vs Sheffield United betting tips

As the new season gets underway at Deepdale (and at Ewood Park) on Friday night, I like the look of two player-focused bets, both of which look a little generously priced.

Kieffer Moore to Score

In my most recent and final Championship pre-season article, I lauded the arrival of Kieffer Moore. I really do think that the Blades have made a shrewd acquisition here.

Moore is a man who knows his way to goal, especially at this level, so don't be surprised if he bangs a fair few in this season. At odds of 5/2, I’ll be betting on him to start the season with a bang on Friday night.

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In that end-of-season loan spell with Ipswich last term, Moore scored a very respectable seven goals in 18 appearances, scoring 0.55 goals per 90 minutes. Factor in that he produced an average of 3.39 shots per game during that spell, not to mention 1.50 shots on target and he looks set to be a serious player here.

A huge threat from set pieces, Moore is a handful for defenders and I really wouldn’t want to bet against him making a real nuisance of himself on Friday night, so much so that I’m on him to start the campaign with a bang by notching at odds of 5/2.

Will Keane to Score

I’m also going to side with a home striker to find the net, and that striker is Will Keane, who quietly made a decent impression during his first season at Deepdale.

Joining from Wigan at the start of last season, Keane scored 13 goals, averaging 0.45 goals per 90 minutes. That stat alone makes odds of 5/2 look a little generous ahead of this opening home game.

A less in-the-thick-of-it and more measured sort of forward than Kieffer Moore, Will Keane, who has scored a total of 25 goals in the last two Championship seasons, will likely be a key player for the hosts this term, and he’s no stranger to scoring on the opening day, which is exactly what he did 12 months ago.