Sunderland vs Preston North End Prediction: Sunderland can get into playoff spots

Sunderland will welcome Preston North End at the Stadium of Light in Game Week 26 of the English Championship. Sunderland will be looking for a win which will propel them back to playoff spots. Who will come out on top after 90 minutes?

Michael Beale witnessed his Sunderland team suffer a 3-0 defeat at home to Coventry City in his debut match, highlighting the difficult challenge he faces at the Stadium of Light. However, Beale and his players deserve recognition for their response, earning four points from away matches against Hull City and Rotherham United. While there may be disappointment in only drawing against the last-placed team in the league, Sunderland showed resilience by coming from behind to secure a point at the New York Stadium. Jack Clarke's goal in the final 20 minutes marks the second consecutive match in which Sunderland has scored late to improve their points total, a positive sign for Beale. However, their record of five losses in 12 home fixtures must be improved if they aim to stay in contention for promotion.

Beale is expected to make some changes to his Sunderland starting lineup for their upcoming match. Abdoullah Ba is likely to replace Patrick Roberts on the right flank, due to Roberts being withdrawn early in the previous game against Rotherham. Mason Burstow is a strong option in the attack and Timothee Pembele and Alex Pritchard are also pushing for starts after their contributions in the team's recent draw. It is expected that Niall Huggins, Dennis Cirkin, and Bradley Dack will remain sidelined.

The possible starting lineup for Sunderland includes Patterson as the goalkeeper, Seelt, O'Nien, Ballard, and Hume in defense, Ekwah and Neil in midfield, and Ba, Bellingham, Clarke, and Burstow in the attacking positions.

Ryan Lowe may be feeling the pressure at Deepdale following Preston's recent results. Despite defeating Leeds United on Boxing Day, Preston suffered a limp 1-0 loss to Sheffield Wednesday in their next game. This loss adds to their tally of six defeats in nine matches, with only seven points earned during that period. However, a potential saving grace for Lowe is that a victory on Monday would see Preston move ahead of their seventh-placed opponents. Although Preston has a decent away record of 15 points from 12 games, they have only scored 13 goals, and now face opponents who have conceded just once in their last two matches.

Preston manager Lowe needs to decide whether to continue with a 4-3-3 formation or switch back to the back three formation that has been used for much of the season. Ben Woodburn and Ched Evans may be chosen for attacking roles, but Emil Riis, despite his return from a knee injury, will not be included in the starting lineup just yet.

For Preston North End, the possible starting lineup consists of Woodman as the goalkeeper, Potts, Whatmough, Lindsay, and Hughes in defense, Browne, Whiteman, and McCann in midfield, and Holmes, Evans, and Millar in the attacking positions.

Although Preston has an element of unpredictability that cannot be ignored, Sunderland appears to be in better form compared to Beale's first home game. With this in mind, we anticipate a narrow win for Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. Expect over 2.5 goals in the game.