When one takes some time to study Preston’s season from a performance vs results perspective, it is surprising how the Deepdale side find themselves in 8th position and in play-off contention.

The first XI does actually look quite well balanced and promising, with solid individuals in every position, but there is little in their performance data to back up that this should be a top half Championship team.

Perhaps this is by design though, the recruitment of big, athletic forwards will always give them a chance to play a more reactive game and hit teams on transition, as well as, hopefully, finishing their own chances at a good rate.

However, it is also the case that they have struggled to keep clean sheets. They are fairly well renowned in the league for being well organised and having a solid defence, one of the few Championship clubs that have retained a three-man central defence, but again, the data indicates that they are average at best in the league.

Indeed, Preston have kept the joint-lowest number of clean sheets in the league, with only two kept all season.

Predictions:

⚽ Over 0.5 QPR goals @ 1.44

⚽ Over 1.5 QPR goals @ 3.20

The way that Preston are set up allows them to be very aggressive from set pieces, and clearly they do spend a lot of time looking at dead-ball situations.

The rate of shots, usually headers, from centre back duo Liam Lindsay and Andrew Hughes is very strong in the 23/24 season data. Hughes has a smaller sample size due to his history, but has still played over 9 full 90s and has a 0.74 shots per 90 rate.

Lindsay has an impressive three goals to his name already this season. These have come from 11 shots, a rate of 0.61 per 90.

Those goals have increased Lindsay’s reputation as a goalscoring central defender, so in the shot markets it is Hughes who rates as the better value option.

The way that the forwards are rotated at Preston means that it can be difficult to guarantee the number of minutes that any of them may get, and with the prices as they are, it would require at least two or three shots to return a decent price. The value isn’t available there for the Preston forwards.

It may seem like an obvious shout, but Chair has been identified by Cifuentes as the player to build his attack around. The Moroccan international is by far QPR’s biggest shot threat over the season.

Chair took 4 shots, albeit all from range, in his favoured left channel last weekend at Norwich, and followed this up with another 3 against Stoke on Tuesday.

Indeed, Chair averages 2.11 shots per game across QPR’s last 30 matches, but under Cifuentes he has gone 4, 4, 3 in shots taken.

Chair is on free-kicks for QPR as well which is always a bonus in this market, and as long as Rangers can get within 25 yards of the Preston goal, Chair will be a threat.

Predictions:

🚀 Andrew Hughes to have 1+ shot @ 1.53

🚀 Andrew Hughes to have 2+ shots @ 3.75

🚀 Ilias Chair to have 2+ shots @ 1.25

🚀 Ilias Chair to have 3+ shots @ 1.83

Kian Best has been a revelation for North End this season. The first Preston player to play for England U19s for many years, and also the first academy prospect to have a regular run of first team starts for a long time, Best has been pressed into action at left centre back and left wing back.

It is early to discuss on what his best position might be in the long term, but he was singled out by Middlesbrough on Tuesday and put under real pressure by Isaiah Jones and Anfernee Dijksteel, and that proved to be fruitful for the Teessiders.

Best is averaging over 2 fouls a match at the moment. Whilst this is usually pretty unsustainable over a longer period of matches, if Best continues to be involved then he may find himself being targeted on a regular basis, which may, in turn, make him of interest in the fouls markets.

Whilst Cifuentes is likely to encourage a free-flowing possession style over time, the Spaniard is also able to work with what he has and utilise his players to play the game that they are most effective within.

Cifuentes spoke specifically about Jack Colback in the media and it is clear that he expects the experienced midfielder to be a leader out on the pitch. Colback already has seven yellow cards this season, as well as a red, so he should be mindful about the severity of his fouling, but, at the same time, Colback has to demonstrate strong leadership and battling qualities on the pitch.

Sam Field, alongside Colback, also has a high foul count. With Preston’s midfielders, such as Ryan Ledson and Alan Browne, also having particularly high foul counts, it could really be a tough battle in midfield. Field has had a suspension for five yellow cards already and has a bit of breathing space now, so he could be worth looking at in the cards markets.

Predictions:

🛑 Kian Best to commit 1+ fouls @ 1.20

🛑 Kian Best to commit 2+ fouls @ 2.00

🛑 Jack Colback to commit 2+ fouls @ 1.50

🟨 Sam Field to be shown a card @ 3.20

This match actually brings together two of the teams that keep the referees the most busy in the Championship.

Preston have the third highest number of yellow cards in the league, but have not had a player sent off in the campaign so far.

Queens Park Rangers have taken a different approach. They have had four sendings off so far, an impressive total in only 18 matches. This total, combined with 38 yellow cards, puts them bottom of the fair play table.

Obviously it is very unhelpful in any match to have a player sent off, especially if some of those red cards are early, like Jack Colback’s against Sunderland for instance, but for a club with a small budget, and, therefore, a small squad, it is also the suspensions that these first-choice players sustain that has a significant impact on the team.

This is something that Marti Cifuentes will likely be able to iron out, but, in the short term, it is something to bear in mind in the booking markets..

Predictions:

🟨 Over 1.5 QPR cards @ 1.44

🟨 Over 2.5 QPR cards @ 2.50