Preston's Winless Run Meets Southampton's Momentum: Can Deepdale Hold Its Ground?

This is not a fixture Preston fans will be looking forward to. One win in five Championship matches. No clean sheets in that same run. Seven goals conceded. The basics have not been done. End of.

Southampton come to Deepdale on Saturday 7 November having picked up three wins from their last five Championship outings. They put four past Bristol City and three past Swansea in that stretch. They are competing. Preston, right now, are not doing enough of it.

Preston's Form: A Problem of Standards

The thing is, Preston's recent results are not a blip. They are a pattern. In their last five Championship matches, Preston have won once, drawn once, and lost three times, shipping seven goals along the way. Preston lost to Millwall 0-1, lost to Lincoln City 0-1, and lost to Watford 1-2 in that run. A draw against QPR and a win over Blackburn are the only positives to point at.

Zero clean sheets in five matches. That tells you everything about the desire at the back. You cannot build anything without defending first. That is a basic. Preston are not meeting it right now and someone needs to be held accountable for that.

Listen, I have seen teams go through bad patches. It happens. But you have to compete every single game. The results suggest that is not happening consistently enough at Preston.

Southampton's Quality Cannot Be Ignored

Southampton have scored ten goals in their last five Championship matches. They won away at Portsmouth 1-0. They won away at Bristol City 4-1. They drew with Lincoln City 1-1. Their only loss in that sample came against Wrexham 1-2. That is a side with attitude. That is a side that knows how to find the net.

They have issues. Four players are currently unavailable through injury or suspension, including one who has been out since November last year on a long-term injury. That is not nothing. Southampton are not at full strength. But the players on the pitch have been delivering results. You work with what you have got.

Head to Head: One Meeting, One Statement

These two sides have met once in this competition. Southampton won that game 3-1. Both teams scored, four goals in total, and neither side kept a clean sheet. It was a high-scoring affair and the result went firmly in Southampton's favour. Preston will want to rewrite that recent history. Based on current form, they have work to do to manage it.

The Verdict

Southampton are the form side here. They have goals in them, they are winning matches, and they have already beaten Preston in this competition. Preston have not kept a clean sheet in five Championship matches and their attack has been muted across the same period.

The thing is, home advantage is real. Deepdale can be a difficult place. But desire and effort have to back that advantage up. Right now I am not convinced Preston are showing enough of either.

Southampton to win. I do not need a spreadsheet to tell me that. I just need to look at what both sets of players have done over the last few weeks. Southampton have competed. Preston have not competed consistently enough. That is the difference.