Luton Town will be aiming to extend their unbeaten run to six games when they travel to Preston North End in the Championship on Saturday.
The two teams finished just one point apart last season, but the Hatters have started the new campaign strongly and sit fifth in the table, while the Lilywhites are 19th.
Match preview
© Reuters
Luton's 1-0 win over Hull City last weekend lifted them into the playoff positions for the first time since August, as Elijah Adebayo's header proved decisive.
Nathan Jones's side are now targeting back-to-back victories for the first time this season, but have only won one of their last five away matches.
The Hatters have kept four clean sheets in their current five-match unbeaten run, with goalkeeper Simon Sluga registering the joint-most shutouts in the Championship across the whole campaign (six).
Luton won both games against Preston last season, with Daniel Iversen's late own goal condemning the Lilywhites to defeat at Deepdale in March.
© Reuters
Frankie McAvoy admitted he was "so disappointed" to lose 2-0 in the West Lancashire derby against Blackpool last weekend, which left Preston with just one win in their last nine matches.
After finishing 13th last season, the Lilywhites are marooned in the table once again as they sit six points behind the playoff positions and six points above the relegation zone.
Preston have not lost at Deepdale in the league since the opening weekend of the campaign, with all three of their Championship victories this season coming on home turf.
They head into Saturday's game after exiting the EFL Cup in midweek, putting in a spirited performance in a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool.
McAvoy's men travel to league leaders Bournemouth on Wednesday, so will be eager to boost their confidence ahead of that daunting test.
- D
- D
- L
- D
- W
- L
- D
- L
- D
- W
- L
- L
- L
- W
- D
- W
- D
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Alan Browne is back available for Preston after being suspended for the EFL Cup clash with Liverpool in midweek.
Frankie McAvoy made nine changes against the Reds, but should recall the likes of Jordan Storey, Ben Whiteman and Emil Riis Jakobsen on Saturday.
Ched Evans and Matthew Olosunde remain out but are not too far away from returning, while Josh Murphy has a longer-term injury.
Kal Naismith is back from suspension for Luton, but Luke Berry will be absent after being forced off injured against Hull last weekend.
Nathan Jones has hinted that he could rotate his side with three games in the space of a week to come before the international break.
Elijah Adebayo has scored six times in his last seven games, having found the net just once in his previous six.
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Iversen; Storey, Bauer, Hughes; Van den Berg, Whiteman, McCann, Ledson, Earl; Jakobsen, Maguire
Luton Town possible starting lineup:
Sluga; Lockyer, Bradley, Naismith; Bree, Clark, Mpanzu, Bell; Cornick, Adebayo, Onyedinma
We say: Preston North End 0-1 Luton Town
We are backing the visitors to continue their impressive run of form, largely thanks to their tight defence. Add in the fact that Preston will have had less preparation time due to their midweek cup game and the majority of the signs point towards a Luton win.
Top tip
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 Luton Town win with a probability of 38.08%. A win for Preston North End had a probability of 33.34% and a draw had a probability of 28.6%.
The most likely scoreline for a Luton Town win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.24%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (7.85%) and 0-2 (7.23%). The likeliest Preston North End win was 1-0 (11.25%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.29%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 6.1% likelihood.
