Luton Town travel to Yorkshire to take on Hull City this weekend in a crucial match near the bottom of the Championship table.
The Hatters are four points adrift of safety in the standings with only eight games remaining, and they face a Hull team that are only three points clear of the drop zone themselves.
Match preview
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The Matt Bloomfield era at Luton got off to a rough start as the former Wycombe Wanderers boss began his reign with an eight-match winless run.
That poor start followed a five-game losing streak that contributed to former boss Rob Edwards departing the club.
Things have slightly improved for the visitors since the beginning of March, with two wins and a draw in their last four games.
Included in that streak was a rare away win this season, as their 2-1 success against fellow strugglers Cardiff City on March 11 was only their second away from home in the league all season.
Indeed, Luton's only other win on the road this season came at Millwall all the way back in September, and both the Hatters and bottom-placed Plymouth Argyle have a disappointing eight points from 19 away matches each – the lowest away points tallies in the division.
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However, they will sense an opportunity to make it two away wins in quick succession this weekend as they take on a Hull side that have the worst home record in the Championship.
The Tigers have won only four matches at home this season, and they have secured only 19 of their 41 points on home soil.
Despite this, half of those four home victories have been in their last two matches at the MKM Stadium, with wins against both Plymouth and Oxford United helping to secure some valuable points in the fight against relegation.
The hosts are unbeaten in their last four games in the league, and with only one defeat in their last seven matches overall, they are hitting a good spell of form under Ruben Selles.
Selles and his opposite number Bloomfield share similarities in that they swapped promotion races in League One for relegation battles in the Championship, having left Reading and Wycombe respectively.
The Spaniard's gamble is paying off at the moment, with Hull currently just above the relegation zone, but a win for Bloomfield's men at the weekend would shake up the standings and narrow the gap between the clubs to just three points.
Luton also have recent history on their side in this fixture as the visitors have won five out of their last six meetings against the hosts.
The last time that the Hatters suffered defeat to Hull was back in September 2019 when the Tigers secured a 3-0 win at Kenilworth Road.
Luton secured an important three points in the reverse fixture back in November as Mark McGuinness scored the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win for Hatters.
That triumph moved this weekend's visitors out of the drop zone in the Championship, with the Tigers falling into it because of the defeat.
Another win for Luton this weekend would not be enough to do the same, but it would certainly go a long way to helping the club move closer to safety in the Championship, as they look to avoid back-to-back relegations, having come down from the Premier League just last season.
Team News
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Hull will still be without Joao Pedro for this clash, as he continues to serve his suspension for a red card against Bristol City earlier this month, while Oscar Zambrano is also out as he continues to serve a long-term ban.
However, loanee Gustavo Puerta is back from his recent suspension, having been sent off in the win against Oxford.
Liam Millar, Mohamed Belloumi, Louie Barry and Eliot Matazo are all out with cruciate injuries, while Dogukan Sinik remains a doubt due to a leg injury.
Meanwhile, the visitors have been rocked by the news that Jacob Brown will miss the rest of the campaign with an ankle injury.
In a further blow for the visitors, Marvelous Nakamba is also out for the rest of the campaign with a knee problem.
In better news for Bloomfield's men, Tahith Chong has returned to full training following a lengthy absence, and he could be in contention to make the squad this weekend.
Elsewhere, Shandon Baptiste (calf), Teden Mengi (knee) and Tom Lockyer (ankle) remain out for the visitors.
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Pandur; McLoughlin, Hughes, Jones, Coyle; Puerta, Alzate, Crooks; Joseph, Gelhardt, Kamara
Luton Town possible starting lineup:
Kaminski; Bell, Makosso, McGuinness; Doughty, Clark, Walsh, Aasgaard, Jones; Adebayo, Morris
We say: Hull City 2-1 Luton Town
Hull have found it difficult to win on their home turf this season, however, they have picked up a couple of wins at home in recent weeks.
We think that they will build on those results and secure another home victory this weekend as they face a Luton side that have only won twice on the road all season.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Tom Humphrey
