Despite recording four top half finishes from seven seasons in England’s second tier since promotion from League One in 2015 — when Jermaine Beckford’s hat-trick sealed a comfortable victory over Swindon Town in the play-off final at Wembley — bookmakers are expecting the Lilywhites to be embroiled in a relegation scrap.
While North End have only managed a couple of top 10 finishes since returning to the Championship, they haven’t been embroiled in a fight for survival since 2010-11, when they went down in 22nd position.
However, SkyBet, Paddy Power and William Hill, among others, are predicting things to change this time around. Here are the latest Championship relegation odds.