Relegation-battling Luton Town host promotion-chasing Preston North End on Saturday with both teams desperate for points as the campaign draws nearer to its conclusion.

A resurgent Luton side will hope to further boost their chances of an unlikely escape from the bottom three as they face an out-of-sorts Preston team in danger of slipping out of the Championship playoff places.

Match preview

Luton's Martin Cranie celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates on February 25, 2020 © Reuters

Luton have lost just one of their last six league games, winning three and closing the gap between themselves and safety to six points.

However, they have won just one of their last four as the momentum of their resurgent form appears to be petering out somewhat, recording back-to-back draws in their last two outings after a 2-1 win over Brentford.

Additionally, Luton's goal difference is the worst in the division, having scored the fourth-fewest goals and conceded the most by some distance.

Despite that, Graeme Jones's side are showing positive signs and will fancy their chances of gaining a measure of revenge for the 2-1 defeat they suffered against Saturday's opponents at Deepdale in December.

Indeed, Preston are far better on their own patch - boasting the fourth-best home record in the league - than they are away from home, managing just 20 points from 18 games on the road so far this season.

Alex Neil's side have lost four of their last five, including their last three in a row, and must act quickly to arrest their dramatic slide or risk dropping out of the playoff places.

Cursiously, their dire form comes after a six-game unbeaten league run featuring four wins, although it is indicative of their patchy season as they suffered three straight defeats just before that strong spell.

Just three points separate sixth-placed Preston from 11th-placed Swansea City and another slip-up could see Neil's men leapfrogged in the table.

Luton Town Championship form: WWLWDD

Preston North End Championship form: WLWLLL

Team News

Preston boss Alex Neil on February 8, 2020 © Reuters

Luton head coach Jones is missing a trio of players ahead of Saturday's clash.

Daniel Potts, James Shea and Brendan Galloway are the three men sidelined, with Potts expected back sometime next month.

For Preston manager Neil, there are a couple of short-term injuries to consider, alongside the existing long-term absentees.

Ben Pearson and Billy Bodin should both be back in action inside a month, but will miss the upcoming fixture.

However, Tom Bayliss and Louis Moult remain out until next season with serious injuries.

Luton Town possible starting lineup:
Sluga; Pearson, Carter-Vickers, Bradley, Cranie; Rea; Ruddock, Tunnicliffe; Brown; Cornick, Collins

Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Rudd; Fisher, Bauer, Davies, Hughes; Browne, Gallagher; Barkhuizen, Johnson, Harrop; Maguire

We say: Luton Town 1-1 Preston North End

Preston are in woeful form and their struggles on the road are well-documented. They could avoid a fourth successive defeat on Saturday with a draw at Luton, but a solitary point may not be enough to keep them in the top six.

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 39.43%. A win for Luton Town had a probability of 34.86% and a draw had a probability of 25.7%.

The most likely scoreline for a Preston North End win was 0-1 with a probability of 9.32%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.57%) and 0-2 (6.56%). The likeliest Luton Town win was 1-0 (8.66%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.18%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.2% likelihood.