Preston's squad faces fitness challenges due to a busy schedule, impacting their performance, especially in the later stages of the second half. Their strategy revolves around traditional wing play and crosses, with good accuracy in the delivery to suit their attacking players. However, wingers sometimes take too long to adjust after breaking through, potentially allowing the opposition to recover. Playing at home gives them a significant advantage with familiarity of the pitch. This aids in set-piece execution, and they display strong positional play in the box. Defensively, they excel in clearing aerial balls, but their ground ball interceptions have some gaps. Sheffield Wednesday arrives with greater physical preparedness, thanks to pre-season training, which has ensured good stamina for their defensive unit. Their tactics emphasize a solid five-at-the-back formation, with wing-backs providing excellent defensive cover, effectively blocking crosses. Away games usually see them play more conservatively, with a cautious approach to counter-attacks. Midfielders tend to make safer passing choices after winning the ball to avoid errors. The timing of wing-back runs forward is generally accurate, but the final pass quality is often lacking, making it difficult to create goal-scoring opportunities.