Saturday 1st December picks

Wolves V Preston North end

Wolves seem to be sneaking up the table unnoticed this year, while all the talk concerns Watford, West Brom and Charlton making speedy returns to the top flight, Wolves seem to be moving in the right direction. Mick Mcarthys side could be described as frustrating to watch at times but theres no doubt that he bought well during the last transfer window. Kevin Foley signed from Luton has proved to be a real hit, both on and off the field and Freddy Eastwood despite being dropped a few times is also a good signing. On the field though, goals have been the big problem. They have averaged about 1 goal per game, though you would expect a team in 4th place to have hit the net more than that. Their trump card has been the defence though, 15 conceded all season, the best defence in the championship.

Last 4 matches (Home)
Wolves - Colchester Utd 1 - 0
Wolves - Barnsley 1 - 0
Wolves - Bristol City 1 - 1
Wolves - Charlton 2 - 0




Preston on the other hand are having a terrible time of it, the departure of Nugent has really hurt them as they depended on him so much for goals. They havent really replaced him and this is reflected in the fact that they have only scored 16 goals so far. At this stage last year they sat in 2nd place and had thumped the likes of Sunderland and Leeds. That seems like a long time ago though and this year will be a dogfight to avoid relegation

Away form is terrible (0 – 2 – 7) 7 goals scored and 17 conceded

Last 4 matches (Away)
2 - 1 Crystal Pal. - Preston
3 - 0 Hull City - Preston
1 - 0 Barnsley - Preston
1 - 1 Sheff Utd - Preston


Verdict.
While Wolves are not prolific goal scorers, they have a teak tough defence. 12 of their games have finished under 2.5 goals. Coupled with the fact that Preston are really struggling to play well and score away from home. I expect Wolves to grind out another win today, maybe worth a small dabble on the 1 – 0 and 2 – 0 scorelines.

Pick
Wolves – 0.5 ( 1.8 @ mansion) 5 points
Wolves to win 1 – 0 (7 @ centrebet) 1 point
Wolves to win 2 – 0 (7.5 @ canbet) 1 point