Preston North End slip down predicted Championship table after recent defeats but Sheffield United and Burnley still tipped

Previously, just a few weeks ago, North End we're predicted to finish eighth, just a couple of points outside of the play-off places.

Now, however, the Lilywhites are expected to finish in the bottom half and 10 points away from the top six.

A win against Huddersfield Town a week ago was the only one PNE have managed in their last four, the Terries currently sit bottom of the league. Defeats to Bristol City, Stoke City and Blackpool otherwise have seen the outlook change for Ryan Lowe’s side, who do have a chance of getting back to winning ways this weekend against Middlesbrough.

Following back to back wins over West Bromwich Albion and Norwich City, North End were predicted to have a good season by the data experts with only a 4% chance of relegation, a 21% chance of making the play-offs, a 12% chance they will make the top two and 4% chance they will win the title.

Things are looking a bit different just a couple of weeks down the line – which shows how tight the Championship table is at the moment. The is now a 9% chance of relegation, 13% chance of reaching the play-offs, 6% chance of being in the top two and less than 1% chance of them winning the league.

The Terriers, beaten 1-0 recently by PNE, currently prop up the table in the second tier. West Bromwich Albion are currently second bottom in the Championship, and have recently sacked manager Steve Bruce, with Coventry City rounding off the relegation zone.

While the Baggies and Terriers continue to struggle, Coventry have picked up in recent weeks with three wins on the spin.

They also have three games in hand on the majority of sides in and around them owing to their pitch issues earlier in the season.

Like West Brom, Middlesbrough were previously fancied to perform well this season but themselves in trouble, sitting one place above the relegation zone ahead of Saturday’s trip to Deepdale.

Cardiff City are also in the mix after their derby defeat to Swansea City, while Wigan Athletic have slipped down the table following a poor run of form.

The Yorkshire trio of Hull, Rotherham and Huddersfield are the three sides predicted to go down.

Following this weekend’s games, data experts at FiveThirtyEight have crunched the numbers and predicted how the final Championship table will look…FiveThirtyEight’s predicted Championship table:

Team Predicted Points

1st – Burnley 80

2nd – Sheffield United 77

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3rd – Norwich City 76

4th – Watford 74

5th – Millwall 71

6th – QPR 71

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7th – Luton Town 69

8th – Swansea City 69

9th – Blackburn Rovers 67

10th – Coventry City 63

11th – Birmingham City 62

12th – West Brom 61

13th – Middlesbrough 61

14th – Stoke City 61

15th – PNE 61

16th – Reading 60

17th – Sunderland 58

18th – Bristol City 57

19th – Blackpool 56

20th – Wigan Athletic 55

21st – Cardiff City 54

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22nd – Hull City 53

23rd – Rotherham United 51

24th – Huddersfield Town 46