Preston North End's 2024/25 Championship campaign gets up and running on Friday when they host Sheffield United at Deepdale.
The fixture was shown for broadcast coverage by Sky Sports and is the first Championship game that will be shown on Sky Sports +. North End's Lancashire rivals Blackburn Rovers play Derby County and that's on the main Sky Sports channel, but PNE along with a game from League One and League Two will be on the new service.
Sheffield United were relegated from the Premier League last season after a dismal campaign and are currently in the process of an American takeover. The Blades have continued to do some bits of transfer business, and are hoping to get Alfie Gilchrist through the door ahead of Friday. They've already signed Harrison Burrows who was a confirmed target for PNE, and Wales striker Kieffer Moore has also come through the door
Most supporters will feel optimistic about their side's chances this season, but sometimes a bad opening day result can suck that optimism right out of you. PNE will be hoping that they can try and break in to the play-off picture this season, but with so many clubs in receipt of parachute payments, it will be a tough ask.
Opta are considered one of the leading experts in the data analysis field for sport, and they have used their formula to predict the Championship table. They crunched the numbers and did a simulation 10,000 times to see how the campaign would pan out, and for sure it comes out with some interesting predictions including Cardiff City, who finished 12th last season to finish bottom, which would see them drop 12 places.
If you're hoping for some good news on North End too then think again as with their numbers, they think PNE might regress and won't even finish in the top-half this season. Of course this information comes without a ball being kicked and games are played on a football pitch and not on paper. Nevertheless, here's how all 24 teams are predicted to finish this season.
