Blackburn Rovers continue their promotion push this weekend as they host Luton Town in a Championship clash at Ewood Park.
The hosts are fifth in the standings after 19 games, while their opponents sit 15th, having played one match more than Rovers.
Match preview
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After finishing just three points above the relegation zone in 19th last season, Blackburn have made significant improvements this campaign.
Last season, the Lancashire club relied heavily on the goals of Sammie Szmodics, who departed for Ipswich Town back in August.
Goals have not always flowed since the Irish forward left the club, but John Eustace's side have shown their defensive capabilities with nine clean sheets so far in the league.
This defensive strength has been pivotal in their recent excellent form, with Rovers winning their last five matches and four of those games ending 1-0.
Another reason why Blackburn are enjoying a better season is their home form, with the hosts winning six of their nine home league fixtures so far this campaign.
They will fancy their chances this weekend against a Luton side that have only won once away from home in the league since being relegated from the Premier League last season.
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Since their 1-0 triumph at Millwall back in September, the Hatters have failed to win in their following six away fixtures, conceding 20 times and scoring only six goals in those matches.
As a result of their dismal away record, they have had to rely heavily on their impressive home form this campaign, earning 18 of their 22 points in games at Kenilworth Road.
Their most recent success came on Tuesday evening, when Elijah Adebayo's late winner secured a 2-1 win at home to Stoke City.
Having had recent experience of getting promoted via the playoffs under Rob Edwards, the Hatters are currently 10 points off the playoff zone, but they will hope to gain momentum in the second half of the season and make another promotion push.
Team News
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Blackburn midfielders Zak Gilsenan (muscle injury) and Arnor Sigurdsson (thigh) are expected to remain sidelined until the end of the month, while goalkeeper Balazs Toth (leg) is due back later this month.
In addition, Andreas Weimann (knee), Scott Wharton (ACL) and Harry Pickering are not expected to return until the new year.
Meanwhile, the visitors will be without Shandon Baptiste (calf), Alfie Doughty (ankle), Amari'i Bell (hamstring) and Reuell Walters (foot) until January.
Elsewhere, Reece Burke has a hip injury that will rule him out for most of December, while Teden Mengi is recovering from knee surgery and is out until April.
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Pears; Beck, Batth, Hyam, Rankin-Costello; Tronstad, Travis, Hedges, Cantwell, Dolan; Ohashi
Luton Town possible starting lineup:
Kaminski; Hashioka, McGuinness, Holmes; Chong, Krauss, Clark, Moses; Brown, Adebayo, Morris
We say: Blackburn Rovers 2-0 Luton Town
We expect Luton's poor away form to continue at Ewood Park this weekend, as a strong Blackburn side will be eager for all three points as they continue their playoff push.
With the hosts keeping clean sheets in each of their last four matches, we expect that trend to continue here in a comfortable 2-0 victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Tom Humphrey
