Luton Town and Huddersfield Town will be looking to claim their second successive Championship victories when they lock horns at Kenilworth Road on Saturday afternoon.
Both meetings between the two sides last season ended in 1-1 draws, with the Terriers rescuing a point on each occasion.
Match preview
© Reuters
Luton ended a poor run of five league matches without a win in impressive style, when they claimed an emphatic 5-0 victory at home against high-flying Coventry City on Wednesday night.
Just over a month ago, the Hatters were losing to Birmingham City on home soil by the same scoreline. However this time around, Elijah Adebayo and Harry Cornick both bagged a brace and Luke Berry also got his name on the scoresheet, helping the hosts claim their third league victory of the campaign.
Nathan Jones labelled the midweek victory as his best performance as manager of the Hatters and he will be hoping that result can act as a springboard for a consistent run of form as the season progresses.
Eight of Luton's 13 points have been claimed at Kenilworth Road so far this term, while Blackburn are the only Championship club who have scored more goals on home soil than the Hatters.
A second successive victory on Saturday against Huddersfield could see Jones's men climb into the top six if other results were to go their way.
© Reuters
After two successive league defeats without scoring against Nottingham Forest and Swansea City, Huddersfield bounced back with a 3-2 victory at home against Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday night.
Danny Ward's 84th-minute header, his second goal of the match, ensured the Terriers came away with all three points for the fifth time this campaign.
Carlos Corberan's side remain in seventh place despite the win, but they have moved level on points with Blackburn, who currently occupy the final playoff spot.
Huddersfield have made a similar start to that of last season, accumulating just three more points this time around. The Terriers maintained a mid-table position for the majority of the 2020-21 campaign until the latter stages, when they were dragged closer to the relegation zone.
Consistency has been lacking for Corberan's men this term, however if they can put together a solid run of form then they should be confident of staying well clear of the bottom three for the time being.
Huddersfield have failed to win each of their last four meetings against Luton, but a win on Saturday could see them move up to fourth in the table.
- D
- D
- D
- D
- L
- W
- W
- L
- W
- L
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Luton are set to be without midfielder Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu until after the international break due to injury, while Fred Onyedinma and Admiral Muskwe remain sidelined with respective leg and ligament problems.
Jones switched to a 3-4-1-2 formation in midweek and he is unlikely to make too many changes, if any, to that starting lineup on Saturday, so Adebayo and Cornick should keep their places up front with Cameron Jerome and Carlos Mendes Gomes attacking options on the bench.
Centre-back Reece Burke was dropped to the bench in midweek and the summer signing could remain there this weekend, with Tom Lockyer, Kal Naismith and Sonny Bradley all expected to start again in the back three.
As for Huddersfield, striker Jordan Rhodes and defender Pipa have been ruled out until November with respective back and hip injuries.
Experienced midfielder Jonathan Hogg (abdominal) and Chelsea loanee Levi Colwill (ankle) missed the midweek victory against Blackburn with minor injuries but will be assessed before kickoff to see if they can feature on Saturday.
Goalkeeper Lee Nicholls is expected to keep the number one jersey ahead of Ryan Schofield who has not fully recovered from a back problem, while Ward is set to continue up front ahead of Fraizer Campbell after an impressive performance on Tuesday.
Luton Town possible starting lineup:
Sluga; Lockyer, Naismith, Bradley; Bree, Bea, Berry, Bell; Clark; Cornick, Adebayo
Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Nicholls; Pearson, Lees, Sarr; Thomas, Vallejo, O'Brien, Toffolo; Holmes, Koroma; Ward
We say: Luton Town 2-2 Huddersfield Town
Spirits are high among the two camps after their impressive victories in midweek and both will be confident of claiming another three points this weekend.
Goals are to be expected at Kenilworth Road, but as there is little to separate both Luton and Huddersfield, an entertaining score draw could be on the cards.
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 42.96%. A win for Huddersfield Town had a probability of 28.93% and a draw had a probability of 28.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Luton Town win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.08%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (8.4%) and 2-1 (8.4%). The likeliest Huddersfield Town win was 0-1 (10.18%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.08%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 10.2% likelihood.
