Will the Potters break into the playoff zone? Championship prediction for Stoke City vs. Preston
On Saturday, October 31, 2026, at 14:30 Kyiv time (EET), Stoke City will host Preston North End at the Bet365 Stadium in Stoke-on-Trent in the 13th round of the English Championship.
The contrast in the standings ahead of kick-off is enormous: Stoke City have collected 20 points, share places from sixth to ninth and are just one step away from the playoff zone, while Preston have endured a disastrous autumn spell, sitting outright bottom in 24th place (just 5 points after 9 defeats) and facing enormous problems across all departments.
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Historically, clashes at Stoke’s ground have been extremely cagey and hard-fought: four of the last six matches at Bet365 produced under 1.5 goals, including two goalless 0-0 draws. The previous meeting in March 2026 at Deepdale ended in a 3-1 win for Preston, giving the hosts additional motivation to seek revenge in front of their supporters.
Stoke City
Mark Robins’ side have found an excellent rhythm, winning four of their last five matches. In recent rounds, the Potters defeated Sheffield United 2-1, as well as Bolton and Watford by the same 2-1 scoreline.
Ethan Galbraith, Julian McGlynn and Million Manhoef have been productive in the build-up, while Sam Gallagher has been effective up front. At home, Stoke City press aggressively and impose a high-tempo physical battle on their opponents.
Preston
The Lilywhites are enduring a deep-rooted crisis: the club have gone five matches without a win, suffering four defeats, including a painful 4-1 loss to Wrexham and a 4-0 defeat by Birmingham.
Preston have the weakest attack in the Championship, scoring just 10 goals in 12 rounds — the worst record in the league — and making costly positional errors when defending crosses into their own box. Without the ball, Alistair Devine and Ben Whiteman try to protect the centre of the pitch, but away games against motivated favorites have proved extremely difficult for the team.
Probable line-ups
- Stoke City: Johansson - Wilmot, Lawal, Graham - Johnson, Soumaré, Galbraith, Bombino - McGlynn, Devenny, Hirst
- Preston: Iversen - Offiah, Storey, Hughes - Mills, Leroy, Potts, Vukčević - Lang, Devine, Kenny
Prediction
The difference in psychological state and current form is enormous: a motivated playoff contender should take all three points from the league’s main underdog without question. My prediction is a Stoke City win.
