Preston fourth in the Championship after taking 26 points from 15 games
Blackburn are 10 points and 15 places worse off than their high-flying rivals
Recommended bet: Draw
The Championship returns from the international break with a Lancashire derby at Deepdale, where high-flying Preston take on local rivals Blackburn on Friday night.
A quick glance at the table would suggest this should be straightforward for the hosts, but Rovers will not go down without a fight and there is reason to believe that they can trouble the Lilywhites.
The latest Preston vs Blackburn odds are available on LiveScore Bet
Team news
Pol Valentin, Daniel Jebbison and Will Keane are nearing a return and Preston will hope to welcome all three back for this clash.
North End will definitely remain without suspended forward Milutin Osmajic, however, as well as long-term injury absentees Lewis Gibson, Andrija Vukcevic, Ali McCann, Brad Potts and Robbie Brady.
Blackburn also have a fair number of sidelined stars, as first-choice goalkeeper Balazs Toth, summer signing Moussa Baradji, youngster Jake Garrett and key players Augustus Kargbo and Scott Wharton remain out.
Rovers could also be without their chief creator Todd Cantwell, who has missed six straight games and is a major doubt for this derby.
The stats
Blackburn have won three of their last four away games and only Coventry (17) and Stoke (14) have picked up more away points in than Championship than Rovers' 12.
Preston have won only five of their last 14 home games and the Lilywhites have kept just one clean sheet in their last six matches.
Only two Championship players have received more yellow cards than Preston defender Andrew Hughes (six).
Blackburn are unbeaten in three head-to-heads, with two of those finishing level.
The latest Preston vs Blackburn odds are available on LiveScore Bet
Prediction
Having been tipped for relegation by many outlets, Preston may be proving their critics wrong right now, but their strong start may not last for too much longer.
Their expected-points figure is just 20, six fewer than their actual tally.
Interestingly, despite having only 16 points to their name, Blackburn's expected-points figure is also 20, suggesting these two sides are far more closely matched than the Championship table would suggest.
North End have been strong at home, losing just one of their eight league games at Deepdale, but Rovers will still be fearing nothing ahead of this short trip, having won three of their last four away games.
In fact, only Coventry (18.7) and Southampton (11.1), have accumulated more expected goals in their Championship road games than Blackburn's 10.4 while Valerien Ismael's side also have the best away xGA in the division, allowing just 6.6 on their travels.
Preston's luck may be starting to run out and these Lancashire rivals look tough to split.
