PREVIEW: Bristol City look for back-to-back wins as they travel to Preston | OneFootball

Bristol City will travel to Deepdale this evening to take on Preston, as they look to pick up back-to-back wins in the Championship.

The Robins got their first three points on the board on Saturday, beating Portsmouth 2-1 in front of a packed Ashton Gate. Lorent Tolaj opened the scoring by netting his first Championship goal, before Jason Knight headed home a second on the hour mark. A late penalty for Pompey made for a nervy final few minutes in the South West, but Michael Skubala’s side ultimately got over the line.

Preston, meanwhile, have lost their opening three matches to Bolton, Wolves and most recently Charlton Athletic, giving cause for concern amongst fans ahead of taking on a side that will be aiming for a play-off spot come May, whilst the Lilywhites are more worried about securing their spot in this division for next season.

Preston have underperformed their xG so far this season, creating enough chances to have scored three goals, but only netting two so far. They have also only registered an average of two shots on target per match, the lowest in the league. By contrast, the Robins have netted four goals in their last two outings, against Birmingham City and Portsmouth, with both Tolaj and Dom Ballard opening their accounts in the process.

Bristol City have picked up four points from their last two trips to Deepdale; it arguably should be six, but Anis Mehmeti failed to make his chances count last year, meaning the game finished 0-0. Max Bird, Yu Hirakawa and Nahki Wells were on the scoresheet the year before, as Liam Manning’s side picked up a 3-1 win. Preston won the last meeting between these sides 2-0, back in January, when Lewis Dobbin and Alfie Devine found the net.

Alistair McCann is expected to remain unavailable for tonight’s clash due to a hamstring injury he sustained in their Carabao Cup defeat to Everton. Meanwhile, Skubala has a full squad to choose from, except for Luke McNally, who has been unable to play for City since February 2025, when he tore his ACL.

The game is scheduled to kick off at 7:45pm BST and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports+.