Sunderland v Preston North End result predicted by supercomputer
Sunderland will look to keep their outside chance of automatic promotion to the Premier League alive when taking on Preston North End in midweek.
Regis Le Bris’ side beat Cardiff City 2-1 on Saturday (8 March) to make it back-to-back victories, having defeated Sheffield Wednesday by the same scoreline a week earlier.
Next up is the visit of Preston to the Stadium of Light on Tuesday (11 March), with the Lilywhites entering the game winless in five league outings.
Sunderland favourites to overcome Preston
Despite the quick turnaround in games, Le Bris will field his strongest available line-up against Preston, injuries permitting, as the Mackems aim to keep the feel-good factor alive.
The gap on Leeds United Sheffield United in first and second respectively stands at eight points, so anything less than victory against Preston will surely spell the end of those automatic promotion chances.
Still, finishing in the playoff zone is more than most expected this season and Le Bris very much has his side on course to achieve that.
| Fixture | Date | Scoreline |
| Preston v Sunderland | 08/05/23 | W 3-0 |
| Preston v Sunderland | 12/08/23 | L 2-1 |
| Sunderland v Preston | 01/01/24 | W 2-0 |
| Preston v Sunderland | 06/11/24 | D 0-0 |
According to Opta Analyst’s supercomputer, Sunderland are the overwhelming favourites to come out on top against Preston in midweek.
The Black Cats have a 54.3-per-cent chance of winning, it is claimed, compared to 22.2 per cent for Preston and a 23.5-per-cent likelihood of a draw.
Sunderland need fellow promotion chasers to slip up
Leeds’ unbeaten run came to an end against Portsmouth last time out in a surprise twist, but there is still an awful lot of work for Sunderland to do if they are to go up automatically.
Not only do they need to string together win after win, they also need Leeds, Sheffield United and indeed Burnley to drop points fairly regularly.
Le Bris will just be focusing on taking it one game at a time, but there is no reason why this match with Preston should be anything other than a home banker.
Preston may be in the FA Cup quarter-finals, but they have been pretty poor most of the season in the Championship.
Indeed, they have taken three points from the past 15 on offer in the league and sit 16th, some 23 points behind Sunderland, so this is a game Le Bris’ men simply have to win.