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Alfie Devine claims a double to lead Preston North End to an impressive 3-1 win over Stoke Milutin Osmajic was also on target as Paul Heckingbottom's side end a seven-match winless streak Sorba Thomas converted Junior Tchamadeu's cross to give the visitors the lead inside five minutes Preston captain Ben Whiteman fortunate to escape a red card for a high challenge on Thomas Get Involved: Via the yellow button below, #bbcefl on X, Whats App on 03301231826 or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply) Ben Miller and Lennan Tomlins Preston 3-1 Stoke Preston come from behind to end their four-match losing run! Sorba Thomas's finish as part of an incisive move gave Stoke an early lead but Alfie Devine's solo goal shortly afterwards, Milutin Osmajic's second-half header and Devine's deft chip for his second send 12th. The home players celebrate. Mark Robins and his side clap the away fans, whose team are now a point behind North End in 14th. Preston 3-1 Stoke More nerve-jangling for Preston. Bae Junho makes a darting run inside the box on the left and crosses for Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, who hooks in a looping shot from a difficult angle. Daniel Iversen spills the high ball. Stoke cannot capitalise. Preston 3-1 Stoke Mark Robins crosses his arms after Stoke's latest cross comes to nothing. Paul Heckingbottom orchestrates his players. The top half of the Championship awaits his side. Preston 3-1 Stoke Anywhere will do for Preston, who clear for a corner again. Preston 3-1 Stoke Daniel Iversen punches successive Sorba Thomas corners away. Thomas jogs over to take a throw-in on the opposite flank. Bae Junho wins a free-kick in a dangerous crossing position, Odel Offiah making the foul. Preston 3-1 Stoke Daniel Iversen makes a mess of a clearance on a bobbling pitch. Stoke corner. Preston 3-1 Stoke Good news for Stoke? There will be five minutes of added time. Preston have gone closer to scoring since that flurry of Potters pressure earlier in this half, though. Preston 3-1 Stoke Time and again we lose against sides that are on a losing streak. Stoke have to question why. Adrian, Gibraltar As a Stoke fan I've seen it far too often. Stoke are bright and well in the match but then the officials make a hash of things and the Stoke players lose faith in them/the match. It's happened again tonight. Daniel, Northamptonshire Preston 3-1 Stoke Preston fans can audibly sense their side are closing in on victory. Stoke are pushing forward to little effect. That Sorba Thomas opener will seem a long time ago for the away fans. Preston 3-1 Stoke Mike Sheron Former Stoke City striker on BBC Radio Stoke If there are any positives it's getting these subs on the pitch. Yes, it's not made much of a difference but it's good for them to get the game time. It's really frustrating, an opportunity would be nice, but we're not really building anything up to get that opportunity. Preston 3-1 Stoke Changes at either end for Preston. Lewis Dobbin makes way for Michael Smith after an influential display, while Pol Valentin is replaced by the full-back whose starting berth he took tonight, Odeluga Offia. Preston 3-1 Stoke Good chance for a fourth for Preston! Alfie Devine's threaded pass releases Brad Potts inside the box on the right. The substitute cuts the ball back to Lewis Dobbin in space, who shoots well over the bar. Preston 3-1 Stoke Stoke have scored after the 84th minute in three of their last five games and they'll need quite the comeback to earn anything here. The visitors have shaded possession but those Preston changes seem to have had an effect. Preston 3-1 Stoke Alan Kelly Former Preston keeper on BBC Radio Lancashire The game management has been good from Preston. They've looked ambitious in attack but they've also done the hard yards in defence, they've been compact and hard to play through. Daniel Iversen has had very little to do in the game because the team have been so disciplined out of possession. I've said actions speak louder than words and you have to give credit to the players. They should see this one out. Preston 3-1 Stoke Stoke play passes around at the back, then launch a long ball to forward Sam Gallagher. Liam Lindsay nods clear at the expense of a throw-in inside Preston's half, and the home side then gain possession, Brad Potts winning a throw on the other flank. Preston 3-1 Stoke Paul Heckingbottom tries to change the momentum, bringing on two Preston substitutes. Brad Potts and Daniel Jebbison replace Andrew Moran and Milutin Osmajic, who headed his eighth goal of the season tonight after remaining an unused substitute at Norwich last Saturday because of a sore hamstring. Preston 3-1 Stoke Preston just about manage to clear Sorba Thomas's latest corner, Daniel Iversen's attempt to deal with the danger a little less convincing this time. If Stoke keep up this pressure, the home fans are in for a nervy end to this contest. Preston 3-1 Stoke Nice one Alfie! Love from all at PVFC. .. Rod, Stoke Alfie Devine spent 26 games on loan at Stoke's rivals Port Vale during the 2023-24 season. Preston 3-1 Stoke Daniel Iversen punches the corner away. Stoke build again, winning another corner. Sorba Thomas wipes the ball with his shirt and sizes up his options. Preston 3-1 Stoke More encouraging signs for Stoke, who curl in a succession of crosses. Preston are defending stoutly but concede a corner. Match report to follow. Rate players out of 10 for this game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle. You must be signed in to a BBC account to play. After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Last Updated 20th March 2026 at 21: 56 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Paul Heckingbottom Formation: 3 - 1 - 4 - 2 Manager: Mark Robins Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Paul Heckingbottom Formation: 3 - 1 - 4 - 2 Manager: Mark Robins Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Championship All competitions All competitions All competitions Each of the last three league meetings between Preston and Stoke have ended level, including two 0-0s; as many goalless draws as in their previous 18 league games combined. Stoke haven’t lost any of their last five away league games against Preston (W3 D2), which is already their longest ever unbeaten run away to the Lilywhites. Preston have lost their last four Championship games – they last lost five in a row in the same league campaign in their final five matches of the 2023-24 campaign, under Ryan Lowe. Since the start of December 2025, only two teams have won fewer points away from home in the Championship than Stoke (8) – West Brom (3) and Sheffield Wednesday (1). After scoring five goals in seven Championship starts for Preston between October and December 2025, Daniel Jebbison has only netted in one of his last nine (one goal v Swansea). Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.