Preston have another difficult task on Saturday as they prepare for the visit of Plymouth Argyle, who have parted company with Paul Sturrock ahead of this game.
Paul Mariner, who returned to Argyle as Head Coach in October, was born in Lancashire and will be in charge of Plymouth Argyle until further notice. This won't be an easy task for Mariner who takes over a side that has struggled so far this season, losing 12 of their 19 opening games.
However, North End have not recorded a victory since Sheffield Wednesday in October so this will be a massive game in which both clubs will be craving three points in.
Despite the change in Plymouth's management, North End are strong favourites to win the game, with pnebetting.com placing them at 8/11 to secure all three points. A draw has been placed at 5/2 and you can get odds of an Argyle victory at 4/1.
Something that has been common with both sides in recent weeks has been that the goals have slightly dried up. North End have failed to find the net in four of their last five matches while Argyle haven't scored in their last three games, condemning them to three straight defeats.
Pnebetting.com can offer you odds of 10/1 for a 0-0 draw, but some will believe that form like this can only end in one way...with bags of goals! There are good odds for comfortable North End wins ; for example, you can get a 2-1 win for the Lilywhites at 7/1 and a 3-0 win for Alan Irvine's side at 12/1.
Other bets that may interest Preston fans are; 7/2 for Preston to win after the teams were level at half time, 21/10 for North End to win by two or more goals or 7/2 for Michael Tonge to score at any time.
Our bet of the week though is 80/1 for Chris Sedgwick to score first in a 2-0 victory. Sedgwick looked lively in the final third against Derby County and Saturday maybe the perfect time for the midfielder to open his account for the season.
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