Leeds United vs Preston
EFL Championship
Sunday
21st January 2024
Elland Road
The most comprehensive preview, detailed analysis and reliable predictions of the EFL Championship fixture between Leeds United and Preston.
Leeds United vs Preston: Preview
Leeds United form analysis
The Whites’ recent Championship form has shown flashes of their quality but lacked consistency. Two wins, one draw and two losses from their past five games. This period started brightly, hammering bottom side Ipswich Town 4-0 away on December 23rd, distributing goals across the team impressively. However, Leeds surrendered the lead to lose 2-1 away at Preston three days later, exposing defensive flaws.
A third straight away match ended in another narrow 1-0 defeat at West Brom on December 30th as their momentum stalled. Fortunately Leeds reignited their promotion push in emphatic style on New Year’s Day, cruising past Birmingham City 3-0 at home with Patrick Bamford and Dylan James both scoring. But inconsistency plagued Leeds again recently as, despite defeating Cardiff City 3-0 away on January 13th with Georginio Rutter’s late goal adding gloss, their form remains unpredictable. With undoubted attacking threat but unconvincing defending undermining them, ironing out these fluctuations is key for the manager .
Preston form analysis
Preston North End’s recent Championship form has fluctuated between positive spells and disappointing results, with two wins, a draw and two losses from their past five games. This inconsistent run started with a dramatic 2-1 home victory over Swansea City on December 23rd, overturning a deficit thanks to late goals from Liam Millar and Jayden Paterson. Showing their quality, Preston then edged Leeds United 2-1 at home three days later, again rallying from behind inspired by Alan Browne’s strike.
However, they failed to build momentum from these comebacks, suffering a 1-0 home loss to Sheffield Wednesday on December 30th. This inconsistency continued as Sunderland comfortably beat Preston 2-0 away from home on New Year’s Day. Most recently though, Preston produced an excellent performance to brush aside struggling Bristol City 2-0 at home on January 13th with Will Keane bagging a brace. Based on these fluctuating results, Preston has proven dangerous but struggled to sustain consistency week-to-week, an important area for the manager to address.
