Luton Town host Preston North End on Saturday in an archetypal mid-table clash in the Championship.
The two clubs sit 14th and 13th in the table respectively, both on 23 points and only separated by the Lilywhites' better goal difference.
Match preview
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Luton drew 0-0 with Coventry City on Tuesday night in what was an instantly forgettable clash at St. Andrew's.
The Hatters recorded just one shot on target, but kept their first clean sheet since the beginning of November.
They are now searching for their first shutout at home since the start of October, and will have 2,000 fans in attendance at Kenilworth Road – double the number that watched them beat Norwich City last week.
Nathan Jones's side have won just once in their last seven matches, but have also only lost twice in that time – in their two away trips to South Wales to face Cardiff City and Swansea City.
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Preston have not won in Bedfordshire since November 1999, but have the joint-best away record in the Championship, with 16 points gained from a possible 24 on the road so far.
They have also scored the most goals away from home (18) and have beaten promotion hopefuls Brentford, Reading and Bournemouth on their travels.
The Lilywhites impressed on home turf in midweek, achieving their joint-biggest victory of the season so far as they defeated Middlesbrough 3-0.
Brad Potts, Scott Sinclair and Emil Riis Jakobsen all scored in the second half as Alex Neil's side showed a clinical nature and became the fourth-highest scoring team in the division.
Preston's current unbeaten run of three games is their longest so far this season and they are now in search of back-to-back victories for only the second time in 2020-21.
Luton Town Championship form: DDLWLD
Preston North End Championship form: WLLWDW
Team News
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Matty Pearson is available for selection again for Luton after serving a one-match ban for his red card against Swansea City last weekend.
Fellow defender James Bree is also expected to be back in the side after sitting out the game against Coventry with a groin issue.
Preston also have a man returning from suspension as Daniel Johnson should slot straight back into the midfield after missing the win over Middlesbrough.
Emil Riis Jakobsen's goal and assist off the bench in midweek could earn him a first start in four games up front in place of Jayden Stockley.
Luton Town possible starting lineup:
Shea; Bree, Pearson, Bradley, Lockyer, Norrington-Davies; Morrell, Dewsbury-Hall, Mpanzu; Collins, Lee
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Rudd; Fisher, Huntington, Davies, Hughes; Browne, Ledson; Potts, Johnson, Sinclair; Jakobsen
We say: Luton Town 0-1 Preston North End
Preston's impressive midweek win, and their strong away record, makes them favourites for this one. The Lilywhites will find Luton hard to break down, but they proved against Middlesbrough that they are relentless in their attacking play, so could take all three points back to Lancashire.
Top betting tip
Olly Allen
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Preston North End win with a probability of 44.48%. A win for Luton Town had a probability of 29.77% and a draw had a probability of 25.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Preston North End win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.52%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.06%) and 0-2 (7.79%). The likeliest Luton Town win was 1-0 (8.27%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.24%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 1.9% likelihood.
