Stoke's chances came in a flood, Preston's barely arrived

Stoke beat Preston 2-0 at the bet365 Stadium, with Jack McGlynn involved in both goals while the visitors managed only three shots.

Stoke's chances arrived in a flood at the bet365 Stadium, and Preston's hardly arrived at all. Expected goals is a measure that gives each shot a value based on how often that kind of chance goes in, and Stoke finished with 2.27 across the match. Their usual figure at home is 0.58, so this was an unusually productive afternoon in front of goal.

Stoke had the ball 60% of the time, well above the 47.4% they usually manage at home, and took 18 shots against a normal 11.5. Twelve of those came from inside the penalty area, where the chances are best and most likely to end in goals. Preston's share of possession was 40%, close to their 40.3% away average, so the gap was not in who held the ball but in what each side did with it.

Ben Wilmot opened the scoring on 29 minutes with Jack McGlynn providing the assist, and McGlynn himself struck on 53 minutes after a pass from Ethan Galbraith. McGlynn was involved in both goals, scoring one and setting up the other, and his rating of 8.4 reflects that. The two goals were close to what the chances had promised, so the finishing was in line with the openings Stoke created rather than a stroke of luck.

Preston managed three shots all match, none of them on target, and only two from inside the box. Their usual away figure is 11.1 shots, so the drop was steep. Their expected goals came to 0.16, against a normal 0.77 away from home. Their goalkeeper, D. Iversen, had four saves to make, which shows Stoke's shots were not all harmless, but the visitors offered little to trouble the home goal.

Stoke kept a clean sheet, which stands out because they usually concede 1.5 goals at home. Preston conceded two, matching their away average of two, so the visitors' defence did its usual job and the problem sat further up the pitch. Their scoring was the weak point, with no goals against a usual 0.8 away.

Stoke sit ninth in the table with 20 points from 12 matches, while Preston are 24th with 5 points from the same number of games. Preston's last six away matches have brought two draws and four defeats, and this result leaves them with a long road back to the top half.

Player of the matchJ. McGlynn1 goal · 1 assist8.4

B. Wilmot1 goal7.8

E. Galbraith1 assist7.6

S. Ingelsson3 chances created7.0