Preston are in a real mess right now.

They’ve failed to win any of their six games since Graham Alexander took over, losing five of these games - most recently losing 3-2 to Sheffield United at home during the week.

They’ve only won one of their 14 matches overall in the Championship, losing five of their seven games at home.

It’s unlikely to get any easier here against a Southampton side who have only lost one of their last 12 matches.

We only need Tonda Eckert’s side to win one half here, which is something they’ve done in each of their last three games.

Southampton also beat a much better Preston side in this fixture last season, coming away 3-1 winners with an xG of 2.41.

This has landed in all four of Hull’s away games in the Premier League so far this season:

4 cards v Coventry

5 cards v Chelsea

5 cards v Newcastle

2 cards v Fulham

No side has picked up more yellow cards in the Premier League than Hull (2.78 per game), only failing to pick up a card in one of their nine games - which was against a Brentford side who rank in the bottom half of the table for cards against.

Arsenal have drawn the joint most cards of any side in the Premier League, alongside Aston Villa and Chelsea (3.22 per game).

Mikel Arteta’s side have also drawn more fouls than any other side in the Premier League (15.78 per game), so this looks like the perfect matchup for the away side to pick up at least two cards.

Preston are in a real mess right now.

They’ve failed to win any of their six games since Graham Alexander took over, losing five of these games - most recently losing 3-2 to Sheffield United at home during the week.

They’ve only won one of their 14 matches overall in the Championship, losing five of their seven games at home.

It’s unlikely to get any easier here against a Southampton side who have only lost one of their last 12 matches.

We only need Tonda Eckert’s side to win one half here, which is something they’ve done in each of their last three games.

Southampton also beat a much better Preston side in this fixture last season, coming away 3-1 winners with an xG of 2.41.

This tends to be a really entertaining fixture, the most recent meeting between the sides back in April produced seven goals as Bayern ran out 4-3 winners with both sides posting a healthy xG (2.69-2.21).

Each of the last 18 (!) head to head meetings between these sides has seen 3+ goals, stretching all the way back to 2018. You can’t use that alone to justify a bet, but it’s a very notable trend that is likely to continue here when looking at the records of both of these sides.

Bayern are seeing 4.38 goals per game in the Bundesliga this season, scoring most of those goals themselves. They’ve seen 3+ goals in 88% of their matches, also seeing BTTS in 75% of their games.

Mainz aren’t too far behind this total, they’re seeing 4.25 goals per game and have seen this selection land in three of their four home matches.

This has landed in all four of Hull’s away games in the Premier League so far this season:

4 cards v Coventry

5 cards v Chelsea

5 cards v Newcastle

2 cards v Fulham

No side has picked up more yellow cards in the Premier League than Hull (2.78 per game), only failing to pick up a card in one of their nine games - which was against a Brentford side who rank in the bottom half of the table for cards against.

Arsenal have drawn the joint most cards of any side in the Premier League, alongside Aston Villa and Chelsea (3.22 per game).

Mikel Arteta’s side have also drawn more fouls than any other side in the Premier League (15.78 per game), so this looks like the perfect matchup for the away side to pick up at least two cards.

The Eredivisie has been the best league for goals in Europe this season, every side is averaging 2.91 goals per game or more with both of these sides seeing 2+ goals in 91% of their 11 Eredivisie matches.

Sparta are really struggling defensively, conceding 2+ goals in each of their last 10 matches. They’ll see this as a winnable game though, against a Den Haag side who have struggled to adapt to the level as a newly promoted side from the Eerste Divisie.

Den Haag have only managed to win one of their five home matches in the Eredivisie this term. They’ve seen 20 goals across these games (4.0 per game), and have still managed to score eight goals despite only recording one victory.

Poor old Preston are very opposable once again.

They’re nine points adrift of safety already, with five points from 14 games, and though this is a double home week for them compared to Southampton’s two away trips, there was nothing in their Tuesday night defeat to suggest they’ll make a better fist of it on Saturday.

PNE managed only six shots in their 3-2 defeat to Sheffield United, they only had one shot in the entirety of the first half and that shot actually gave them the lead after two minutes.

Saints have great squad depth to cope with the busy schedule and a win will likely have them on the brink of the automatic promotion places heading into the international break - which is really impressive considering they started the season with a four-point deduction.

This is an understandable short price given the gap in quality between the two sides.

Preston have conceded 14 goals in their last five, just under three per game, and Saints have the talent to expose that backline again at Deepdale.

Stoke are in a false position, the league table lies and they are not the 4th-best team in the Championship.

The xG data shows that: they sit 18th on expected points, and have unsustainably overperformed in both boxes, scoring 22 from 14.9 xG and only conceding 17 from 21.4.

They’re also preparing for a second consecutive away game this week, where Pompey are at home for the second time in five days, beating 5th-placed Swansea 3-1 on Tuesday.

Stoke were also victorious in midweek, but it was not a convincing or repeatable winning performance, they scored a free kick and an own goal to win 2-1 at Blackburn, in a game where Rovers were arguably the better side.

Forget their recent history, Portsmouth are play-off challengers, one point outside the top eight heading into this match, and their xG process has been better than Stoke’s in both boxes this term.

They’re expected goal difference for the season is at -0.6, where Stoke’s -6.4 is the 6th-worst for that metric in the league.

Charlton are dropping like a stone, 11 winless in the league and they’ll be fighting the crowd as well as the threat of relegation if they go behind early.

The hosts are the worst team in the league going forward, them and Derby have scored 11 from 14 games, while Charlton have the worst xG for (13.0).

They’re now without a clean sheet in seven as well, and this could well be Nathan Jones’ last game in charge.

Sheffield United have picked up of late, three wins in four and their 3-2 win at Preston on Tuesday evening was more comfortable than the scoreline suggests - with Sydie Peck netting a first half hat-trick from midfield.

They’re a bet at odds-against quotes to win the game, I’m happy to take Draw No Bet for the acca.

The schedule’s in their favour with a double home week compared to Millwall’s double away, and the Baggies gave a really good account of themselves in a 1-1 draw with Southampton on Tuesday.

This bet has won in five straight for West Brom, and in six of their seven home league games so far this term.

Millwall were 3-0 down, as it stayed, at Birmingham on Tuesday night and their only away win since the opening weekend came at rock-bottom Preston.

West Brom were utterly dominant in the first half in midweek, going in 1-0 up against the Saints without allowing their visitors a single shot.

The second half was a different story, but they’ll consider themselves unfortunate not to win the game having won the xG battle 2.46-1.38.

Injury issues have impacted Millwall’s rhythm this season and they should be in a better place after the international break, but a trip to The Hawthorns following their limp defeat in Birmingham on Tuesday is a big ask.

Poor old Preston are very opposable once again.

They’re nine points adrift of safety already, with five points from 14 games, and though this is a double home week for them compared to Southampton’s two away trips, there was nothing in their Tuesday night defeat to suggest they’ll make a better fist of it on Saturday.

PNE managed only six shots in their 3-2 defeat to Sheffield United, they only had one shot in the entirety of the first half and that shot actually gave them the lead after two minutes.

Saints have great squad depth to cope with the busy schedule and a win will likely have them on the brink of the automatic promotion places heading into the international break - which is really impressive considering they started the season with a four-point deduction.

This is an understandable short price given the gap in quality between the two sides.

Preston have conceded 14 goals in their last five, just under three per game, and Saints have the talent to expose that backline again at Deepdale.

This has landed in all four of Hull’s away games in the Premier League so far this season:

4 cards v Coventry

5 cards v Chelsea

5 cards v Newcastle

2 cards v Fulham

No side has picked up more yellow cards in the Premier League than Hull (2.78 per game), only failing to pick up a card in one of their nine games - which was against a Brentford side who rank in the bottom half of the table for cards against.

Arsenal have drawn the joint most cards of any side in the Premier League, alongside Aston Villa and Chelsea (3.22 per game).

Mikel Arteta’s side have also drawn more fouls than any other side in the Premier League (15.78 per game), so this looks like the perfect matchup for the away side to pick up at least two cards.

Charlton are dropping like a stone, 11 winless in the league and they’ll be fighting the crowd as well as the threat of relegation if they go behind early.

The hosts are the worst team in the league going forward, them and Derby have scored 11 from 14 games, while Charlton have the worst xG for (13.0).

They’re now without a clean sheet in seven as well, and this could well be Nathan Jones’ last game in charge.

Sheffield United have picked up of late, three wins in four and their 3-2 win at Preston on Tuesday evening was more comfortable than the scoreline suggests - with Sydie Peck netting a first half hat-trick from midfield.

They look value at odds-against quotes to win the game.

Dundee United are one of the form teams in the Scottish Premiership, and I think they can get the three points when they host Motherwell on Saturday.

Jim Goodwin’s side extended their unbeaten run to six matches with a hard-fought 2-2 draw away at Celtic last midweek.

The Terrors have also beaten Hibernian and Aberdeen at home during that run, so they will fancy their chances of adding to their points tally against Motherwell.

The Steelmen had taken just one point from seven league games before beating St Mirren 1-0 last weekend.

Moreover, Alfred Johansson’s side have won only once away from home in the Scottish top-flight this term, and that came against bottom-of-the-table Hibernian on the opening weekend.

I think Livingston look well placed to score at least once away at Inverness on Saturday.

The Lions picked up their most impressive result of the season last Friday night, claiming a convincing 3-0 win away at Stenhousemuir.

That followed a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Arbroath, so Livi are beginning to build momentum after a stuttering start to life back in the Scottish Championship.

Moreover, they have now scored at least once in seven of their last eight league matches, including a 2-2 draw with Inverness in the reverse fixture.

Confidence could be low in the Caley Jags camp after a 5-1 hammering at Dunfermline last Saturday, and Livi can get on the scoresheet in the Highlands.

Partick Thistle can bounce back from last weekend’s setback by winning away at Queen’s Park in the Scottish Championship on Saturday.

Mark Wilson’s men were unbeaten in five league games, winning four and drawing one, before a shock 3-2 home defeat to Morton.

I suspect that will prove a blip, and that the league leaders can get their title charge back on track at the first attempt this weekend.

Thistle have won away at Livingston and Ayr in recent times, while their last road trip ended in a 1-1 draw with an in-form Dunfermline side.

Queen’s Park should pose less of a test, with the Spiders bottom of the table after losing seven of their last eight matches, including the last three.

It might not be pretty, but I think Partick’s superior class will tell and see them claim all three points at Lesser Hampden.