Boxing Day Championship Tips: PNE fans to enjoy some festive cheer

• Yet more misery for terrible Terriers

• Improving Tigers to triumph

• Baggies to bounce back

Rare home success for Lilywhites

Preston 1.8810/11 v Huddersfield 4.84/1; The Draw 3.6553/20

Preston's impressive goalscoring streak was ended by QPR last weekend with the West Londoners keeping PNE off the scoresheet in Neil Critchley's first game in charge.

Nevertheless, the Lilywhites have been much-improved lately and this appears to be an ideal opportunity to bounce back.

Ryan Lowe will be understandably concerned by his side's poor home form with fans baffled by their team's inability to produce the goods at Deepdale.

They have a 3-4-5 record here and have averaged just 0.58 goals per game. Irrespective of that, they have won three of their last six here with Lowe deploying a differet formation in each of those victories.

Although sticking the ball in the back of the net has become an issue for the hosts, they have managed to keep things tight at the back.

Only three sides, including high-flying Sheffield United have netted 2+ goals in PR1 and ahead of a visit from the division's weakest attack, fans will be feeling confident of witnessing a rare home victory.

Huddersfield are battlers and they are scrapping for every point, however, they lack quality and look bereft of ideas in the final third.

The Terriers have been unlucky with injuries and might struggle to strengthen in January if they aren't able to offload some squad players. There have been incremental improvements under Mark Fotheringham, however, he is yet to solve their issues going forward.

Having failed to score in three of their last four away games and with an average of 0.9 goals per game on the road, they are unlikely to penetrate PNE's defence on Monday afternoon.

Boxing Day success for Teessiders

Middlesbrough 1.695/7 v Wigan 5.85/1; The Draw 3.953/1

Middlesbrough suffered a rare defeat last weekend as they were beaten by leaders Burnley at Turf Moor.

Although there is very little shame in losing to the Clarets, the Teessiders did very little wrong throughout the 90 minutes and should be able to bounce back here. Michael Carrick has changed the dynamic of this squad and the players look hungry and increasingly motivated.

Since arriving at the Riverside, the former Manchester United midfielder has averaged 1.86 points per game with his side netting 13 times during the seven game period. Carrick's main concern will be his side's inability to keep the opposition off the score-sheet and with nine goals conceded so far, he'll be keen to tighten things up in 2023.

Wigan are still finding their feet under Kolo Toure, and although there have been positives to take from their opening couple of performances, the Latics' squad lacks quality.

Toure will need to call upon his contacts in the Premier League in January as he aims to steer his side clear of the relegation zone. Nevertheless, they've found the net in each of their last three matches and will be quietly confident of finding a way past Boro's leaky back-line.

Rosenior to claim first victory at the MKM

Hull 2.245/4 v Blackpool 3.711/4; The Draw 3.4549/20

Although he has yet to completely turn things around, Liam Rosenior's appointmennt has undoubtedly lifted the mood around the MKM.

The former defender has managed to successfully plug the gaps in the Tigers' back-line and with just five goals conceded in as many games, the Humberside outfit have become much harder to beat in recent weeks.

Rosenior's preferred style of play, which involves playing out from the back, will take time to implement, however, the early signs are positive and fans will be confident of success in this Boxing Day fixture.

Having kept Watford at arm's length and battled back to take a point against Sunderland, they should be able to take three points against an out-of-form Blackpool outfit.

Across the last five matches, the Seasiders have a negative xG of -4 and although recent results suggest that they have become tougher to beat, they have been incredibly lucky to take points off both Cardiff and Birmingham.

The Fylde Coast club have improved in the second period of both games, but their first half performances have potentially suggested that Appleton's starting XI lacks both balance and creativity.

Entertaining 90 mins at the NY Stadium

Rotherham 3.412/5 v Stoke 2.3811/8; The Draw 3.4549/20

The general narrative surrounding Rotherham this season is that they are strong at home and should pick up enough points in South Yorkshire to avoid to drop. However, their recent from at this venue has been below par and they've picked up just a single victory across their last six outings here.

Bristol City, Norwich and Hull have all left the New York Stadium with maximum points and having conceded nine times during that period, Matt Taylor will be looking for a way to tighten up his side's leaky rearguard.

At the other end of the field, the Millers have looked efficient going forward, despite the lack of a recognised striker in some cases. They've netted in each of their last five matches here and have only failed to score once in front of their own fans all season.

Stoke are an incredibly frustrating side to follow and Alex Neil's men lack any sort of consistency. Nevertheless, they have been better on the road this season and have a 5-2-5 record outside of the Potteries.

They come into this contest off the back of a morale-boosting victory over Bristol City and having scored twice in each of their last two outings, they will be confident of finding a way through on Monday afternoon.

WBA to take advantage of Robins' generosity

Bristol City 3.211/5 v West Brom 2.47/5; The Draw 3.4549/20

Nigel Pearson has come in for plenty of criticism in recent weeks after failing to find a solution to his side's problematic defending.

The Robins have won just one of their last seven and their tendency to give away cheap goals and squander leads has left large sections of the Bristol City fans deeply frustrated.

Pearson's stubborn response to the underwhelming performances hasn't helped matters, whereas the deployment of veteran midfielder Andy King in the centre of defence has also caused some consternation.

West Brom slipped up on Wednesday evening with Carlos Corberan suffering a rare defeat. WBA were second best throughout and struggled to recreate their recent performances, however, they've been handed a winnable Boxing Day fixture.

The Baggies have plenty of strength-in-depth and Corberan is likely to mix things up. Coventry were well-drilled on Wednesday evening, whereas Bristol City should be far easier to open up.

Defences to come out on top at Bramall Lane

Sheffield United 1.75/7 v Coventry 5.79/2; The Draw 43/1

Sheffield United continued to keep the pressure on Burnley with a 2-1 victory over Wigan on Monday night. Paul Heckingbottom's side have now won six of their last seven matches and with games against Blackpool, Hull and Stoke on the horizon, they will be confident of retaining their position in the top two.

Nevertheless, this is unlikely to be straightforward and they must find a way to break down Coventry's stubborn rearguard. Across the last five matches, the Blades boast the best net xG of 4.8 and have been routinely creating opportunities in front of their own fans.

Although they've only won two of their last seven at this venue, their performances have been excellent and they will fancy their chances of taking all three points from this fixture.

Coventry beat West Brom on Wednesday evening and with the exception of last weekend collapse, they have been keeping things fairly tight. Their away games have been fairly low key affairs with Mark Robins' side having netted just 11 times on the road. They've conceded just 13 times on their travels and have been breached just once on the road since September 18th.