Maja and Dike on target as West Brom ease past Preston in Championship run-in

West Bromwich Albion strengthened their Championship position with a composed 2–0 victory over Preston North End on matchday 43, powered by goals from Josh Maja and Daryl Dike.

The visitors made the ideal start at Deepdale, breaking the deadlock in the 11th minute. Aune Heggebø created the opener, providing the assist for Maja, who finished clinically to put West Brom 1–0 up.

Championship FINISHED

2026-04-18 14:00

Preston North End FC

0 - 2

West Bromwich Albion FC

Matchday 43 REGULAR_SEASON

Preston’s afternoon was disrupted early when Ben Whiteman was replaced by Jordan Thompson in the 13th minute. Further reshuffles followed for the hosts, with Andrew Moran making way for Thierry Small at half-time and Daniel Jebbison being replaced by Milutin Osmajić just after the hour, as Preston searched for a way back into the contest.

West Brom, however, maintained control and doubled their advantage late on through an inspired substitution. Heggebø was withdrawn on 70 minutes for Dike, and the forward made a swift impact. In the 77th minute, Jayson Molumby supplied the assist and Dike converted to stretch the lead to 2–0, effectively sealing the points.

Preston introduced Michael Smith for Brad Potts with around 20 minutes to play, but the hosts were unable to break down a disciplined Albion side. In the closing stages, West Brom rotated their attack, bringing on Karlan Grant for Maja on 86 minutes and Oliver Bostock for Isaac Price in added time to see out the result.

No bookings were recorded in the official data, and detailed statistics such as possession, shots and saves are not available. However, the documented events underline a professional away performance from West Brom, who capitalised on their key chances to emerge 2–0 winners.

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Championship Standings

Season: 2025/26

#	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Form
1	Coventry City FC	46	28	11	7	97	45	52	95	W W W D D
2	Ipswich Town FC	46	23	15	8	80	47	33	84	W D D W D
3	Millwall FC	46	24	11	11	64	49	15	83	W D W W D
4	Southampton FC	46	22	14	10	82	56	26	80	W D D W W
5	Middlesbrough FC	46	22	14	10	72	47	25	80	D W W D L
6	Hull City AFC	46	21	10	15	70	66	4	73	W L D D L
7	Wrexham AFC	46	19	14	13	69	65	4	71	D L W W L
8	Derby County FC	46	20	9	17	67	59	8	69	L W L W L
9	Norwich City FC	46	19	8	19	63	56	7	65	L D W W L
10	Birmingham City FC	46	17	13	16	57	56	1	64	D W W D W
11	Swansea City AFC	46	18	10	18	57	59	-2	64	W D W L W
12	Bristol City FC	46	17	11	18	59	59	0	62	W L D L D
13	Sheffield United FC	46	18	6	22	66	66	0	60	W L L W W
14	Preston North End FC	46	15	15	16	55	62	-7	60	L W L L W
15	Queens Park Rangers FC	46	16	10	20	61	73	-12	58	L L L L D
16	Watford FC	46	14	15	17	53	65	-12	57	L L L L L
17	Stoke City FC	46	15	10	21	51	56	-5	55	L L L L D
18	Portsmouth FC	46	14	13	19	49	64	-15	55	D W L W W
19	Charlton Athletic FC	46	13	14	19	44	58	-14	53	L W L D L
20	Blackburn Rovers FC	46	13	13	20	42	56	-14	52	L W D L D
21	West Bromwich Albion FC	46	13	14	19	48	58	-10	51	L D W W D
22	Oxford United FC	46	11	14	21	45	59	-14	47	L W L L W
23	Leicester City FC	46	12	16	18	58	68	-10	46	W D D L L
24	Sheffield Wednesday FC	46	2	12	32	29	89	-60	0	W L L D D