Preview: Bournemouth vs. Preston North End - prediction, team news, lineups

Bournemouth will be looking to prolong their record-breaking start to the Championship season when they host Preston North End on Wednesday evening.

The Cherries have yet to lose a game this campaign and are top of the division, while Preston are 19 points worse off in 19th after a slow start.

Match preview

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Bournemouth extended their winning run to five matches with a comprehensive 2-0 victory at Reading on Saturday through goals from Dominic Solanke and substitute Jamal Lowe.

The Cherries have not conceded in their last four matches and hold a five-point lead on closest challengers Fulham at the summit.

With their latest win, Scott Parker's side have set a record for the best start to a Championship campaign after 15 matches, with 37 points collected and a goal difference of +18.

Parker has yet to taste a league defeat since taking charge, in fact, and he will be confident of keeping it that way against lowly Preston at the Vitality Stadium in midweek.

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The Lilywhites have managed to turn things around slightly, however, thanks to wins over Coventry City and Luton Town either side of defeat at rivals Blackpool.

Those victories both came at home, with North End still winless from eight away matches this season - no team in the division has a worse record.

Frankie McAvoy can take some confidence from his side's 2-0 win against Luton at the weekend, though, with that result moving Preston nine points clear of the dropzone.

Preston are also unbeaten in six meetings with Bournemouth in all competitions, a run that includes successive 3-2 wins in their most recent two encounters at the Vitality Stadium.

Team News

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Bournemouth stuck with the same lineup between their most recent two victories, though there was one change in the matchday squad as Lewis Cook made a welcome return to the bench.

The midfielder had spent seven months on the sidelines with a knee injury and will be eager to get his first minutes of the campaign here, most likely as a substitute.

Lowe will be hopeful of a recall after scoring as a substitute last time out, while Ben Pearson is another contender to come into the side if Parker wishes to freshen things up.

That is unlikely to come at the expense of Solanke, who has been involved in 21 goals in his last 26 league appearances for Bournemouth, scoring 16 and assisting a further five.

As for Preston, they have a number of injury concerns for this game as Josh Murphy, Ched Evans, Connor Wickham, Isaiah Brown and Matthew Olosunde are all struggling.

Daniel Johnson was not involved in the win against Luton but may come back into the XI here, possibly in place of Alan Browne.

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Travers; Stacey, Cahill, Kelly, Zemura; Pearson, Lerma, Billing; Lowe, Solanke, Anthony

Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Iversen; Berg, Bauer, Hughes; Barkhuizen, Whiteman, McCann, Earl; Johnson; Jakobsen, Maguire

We say: Bournemouth 2-0 Preston North End

Preston have a good record in this fixture, with their most recent loss to Bournemouth coming nine years ago, but everything else points to a routine home victory.

The Cherries have won five games in a row and are unbeaten in 15 league games this term, whereas North End are winless on their travels, making an upset very unlikely.