Sheffield United vs Preston North End preview

England flag 2025/2026 Championship, England
Bramall Lane Sat, 25 Apr - 2:00 PM
Championship
Sheffield UnitedSHU
Preston North EndPNE
KICKOFF : Sat, 25 Apr - 2:00 PM
Round 45 Regular Season

CONTEXT

Sheffield United host Preston North End in Championship (Regular Season) at Bramall Lane. Domestically, Sheffield United sit 14th in the table while Preston North End are 16th. Power ranking favours Sheffield United by 4.6 points heading into this fixture.

TL;DR

  • Structural: Sheffield United enjoys a 4.6-point power advantage over Preston North End.
  • Form: Hosts register a form score of 18.56, edging Preston North End's 17.5.
  • Squad: Sheffield United holds 14th position, ahead of Preston North End at 16th.
  • Efficiency: Efficiency data unavailable for both teams in this fixture.
  • Transition: Higher power score positions Sheffield United favorably in transitions.
  • Set pieces: Set piece metrics rely on low-confidence proxies without xG availability.
  • xVariable: Power disparity highlights Sheffield United's 24.67 versus Preston's 20.09.
  • Market: Sheffield United 57.5% (Δ+0%) | Draw 21% (Δ+0%) | Preston North End 21.5% (Δ+0%).
No standings statistics available.
No head-to-head records found.
0.5+ goals: 85%
1.5+ goals: 70%
2.5+ goals: 50%
3.5+ goals: 25%
Confidence: High (≥8 matches)

Quality vs Volume

Home: xG 1.8, Shots 12, xG/Shot 0.15
Away: xG 1.5, Shots 14, xG/Shot 0.11

Open Play vs Set Play

Open Play: 65%
Set Play: 35%

Expected Points

TeamxPts
Home1.8
Away1.2
ℹ️ Methodology: Expected Goals (xG) measures shot quality
Jan 25 vs Team A
Feb 1 vs Team B
Feb 8 vs Team C
Sheffield United C. Wilder
C. Wilder
VS
Preston North End P. Heckingbottom
P. Heckingbottom
1.5
Avg Points / Game (Last 100 Matches)
1.19
1.17 i
Last 6 Opponents
Blackburn Rovers Rank: L
Watford Rank: W
Hull City Rank: W
Bristol City Rank: L
Swansea City Rank: D
Wrexham Rank: L
Avg Points / Game (Last 6 Matches)
1.33 i
Last 6 Opponents
Birmingham City Rank: L
West Bromwich Albion Rank: L
Charlton Athletic Rank: W
Queens Park Rangers Rank: D
Leicester City Rank: D
Stoke City Rank: W
12
Head to Head (Wins - Draws - Losses)
12 - 7 - 7
7
No sidelined player data available.

Win Probabilities

Live Win Probability (90 Min)
Home Sheffield United
57.52%
Draw
20.97%
Away Preston North End
21.51%

Team Power Ranking

i
What is Power Ranking?
Power score: composite of opponent-weighted form (last 6 & 20 games) and league position over last 3 seasons.
24.67
20.09
0 (Weakest) 100 (Strongest)
Metric
Sheffield United
Preston North End
Power Score
24.67
20.09
League Position
14
16
Global Rank
-
-

Form Analysis Opponent-Weighted

Line chart of recent results (points/trend). Friendlies excluded by default. Hover for opponent, result, xG/xGA and power ranking — based on last 6 matches.

–
vs
Sheffield United — Opponent-weighted form score
Preston North End — Opponent-weighted form score
Win (3 pts) Draw (1 pt) Loss (0 pts) Sheffield United Preston North End

Team Head to Head Last 6 Seasons

Summary of 26 matches between these sides — filtered by competition and venue context.

Sheffield United SHU Home
26 matches
Preston North End PNE Away
Match Record
12
Wins
7
7
Draws
7
7
Losses
12
Goals
33
Goals Scored
27
27
Goals Conceded
33
+6
Goal Difference
-6
Expected Goals
0
xG
0
0
xGA
0

Data last updated: 2026-04-25T00:05:53+00:00

STARTING XI

Match Formation 4-2-3-1
Match Formation 3-5-2
Pitch
A. Davies
Wales
17 A. Davies
K. Hoever
Netherlands
12 K. Hoever
J. Tanganga
England
2 J. Tanganga
M. McGuinness
Republic of Ireland
25 M. McGuinness
H. Burrows
England
14 H. Burrows
J. Riedewald
Netherlands
44 J. Riedewald
J. Rothwell
England
48 J. Rothwell
T. Cannon
England
7 T. Cannon
T. Chong
Netherlands
24 T. Chong
G. Hamer
Netherlands
8 G. Hamer
P. Bamford
England
45 P. Bamford
D. Iversen
Denmark
1 D. Iversen
A. Hughes
Wales
16 A. Hughes
L. Lindsay
Scotland
6 L. Lindsay
O. Offiah
England
42 O. Offiah
A. Vukčević
Montenegro
3 A. Vukčević
B. Potts
England
44 B. Potts
J. Thompson
Northern Ireland
15 J. Thompson
A. Devine
England
21 A. Devine
P. Valentín Sancho
Spain
2 P. Valentín Sancho
M. Osmajić
Montenegro
28 M. Osmajić
L. Dobbin
England
17 L. Dobbin

General Information

Date & Time
Apr 25, 2026, 02:00 PM
Competition
2025/2026 Championship, England · Round 45 · Regular Season
Stadium
Bramall Lane
Capacity
32702
Pitch Surface
Grass
Weather
☀️ 12°C, Fair
Referees
Carl Fitch
Andrew Kitchen
James Wilson
Abigail Byrne

Lineup

Referee : Andrew Kitchen

Starting XI ▼

17
Adam Davies
Adam Davies Goalkeeper
6.55
2
Japhet Tanganga
Japhet Tanganga Defender
6.58
12
Ki-Jana Hoever
Ki-Jana Hoever Defender
6.69
14
Harrison Burrows
Harrison Burrows Defender
6.86
25
Mark McGuinness
Mark McGuinness Defender
6.83
7
Tom Cannon
Tom Cannon Midfielder
6.6
8
Gustavo Hamer
Gustavo Hamer Midfielder
7.14
24
Tahith Chong
Tahith Chong Midfielder
6.45
44
Jaïro Riedewald
Jaïro Riedewald Midfielder
6.78
48
Joe Rothwell
Joe Rothwell Midfielder
6.48
45
Patrick Bamford
Patrick Bamford Attacker
6.96
Referee : Andrew Kitchen

Starting XI ▼

1
Daniel Iversen
Daniel Iversen Goalkeeper
6.92
6
Liam Lindsay
Liam Lindsay Defender
6.79
16
Andrew Hughes
Andrew Hughes Defender
6.8
42
Odeluga Offiah
Odeluga Offiah Defender
6.72
2
Pol Valentín
Pol Valentín Midfielder
6.58
3
Andrija Vukcevic
Andrija Vukcevic Midfielder
6.53
15
Jordan Andrew Thompson
Jordan Andrew Thompson Midfielder
6.66
21
Alfie Devine
Alfie Devine Midfielder
6.99
44
Brad Potts
Brad Potts Midfielder
6.84
17
Lewis Dobbin
Lewis Dobbin Attacker
6.84
28
Milutin Osmajic
Milutin Osmajic Attacker
6.71

CONCLUSION

Overall, the structural indicators point toward Sheffield United holding the stronger pre-match profile. Power rankings give Sheffield United a 4.6-point edge. External projection is Sheffield United 57.4%, draw 21.7%, and Preston North End 20.9%. That projection profile aligns with the structural signals. The balance of play should hinge on execution in transitions and set-piece phases.