Championship leaders Bournemouth will be aiming for a fourth successive victory when they travel to Luton Town on Saturday afternoon.
The Cherries are currently one point ahead of second-placed Fulham having played a game more, while the Hatters are 16th – the lowest that they have been in the table this season.
Match preview
© Reuters
After starting the campaign in electric form and going unbeaten in their first 15 matches, Bournemouth then went on a six-game winless run that has made their position in the Championship top two far less secure; they are currently only three points ahead of third-placed Blackburn Rovers.
Scott Parker's side have got back on track in recent weeks, though, and finished 2021 with back-to-back league wins for the first time in two months by beating Queens Park Rangers and Cardiff City.
The Cherries avoided an upset in the FA Cup last weekend as they won 3-1 away at non-league Yeovil Town, with Emiliano Marcondes scoring a hat-trick.
Bournemouth's next four matches are all against sides currently in the Championship bottom half, so they have a chance to build some momentum again.
The south coast outfit beat Luton 2-1 in the reverse fixture earlier in the season, but have only been victorious on one of their last six trips to Kenilworth Road.
© Reuters
Due to fixtures being postponed, Luton have not played in the Championship since a 1-1 draw against Fulham on December 11.
That will be a warning to Bournemouth that the hosts can compete with the best sides in the division, but Nathan Jones's team have only won once in their last six matches.
It is a run that has seen the Hatters slip away from playoff contention and they are now 11 points behind the top six but with as many as four games in hand over teams above them.
Luton eased to a comfortable 4-0 victory at home against League Two side Harrogate Town in the FA Cup last weekend, but are winless in their last three league matches at Kenilworth Road.
- L
- L
- D
- L
- W
- D
- L
- D
- L
- W
- D
- W
- D
- D
- L
- L
- W
- W
- D
- L
- L
- W
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Luton continue to be without Admiral Muskwe who is at the Africa Cup of Nations, so Cameron Jerome may start again in attack having scored his first goal since August against Harrogate.
Fred Onyedinma will be pushing for a start after making an impact off the bench in the cup, while Luke Berry also impressed as a substitute – marking his return from over two months on the sidelines with a goal.
Forward Harry Cornick is the only Hatters player currently on the treatment table as he is nursing a calf injury.
Scott Parker made 10 changes for Bournemouth's cup tie against Yeovil, but will revert to his strongest XI for the trip to Kenilworth Road.
Jordan Zemura is at AFCON, so Leif Davis, Chris Mepham and Robbie Brady will battle it out for the left-back spot.
The game comes too soon for new signings James Hill and Ethan Laird, while Parker has confirmed that Junior Stanislas is set for another lengthy spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.
Luton Town possible starting lineup:
Shea; Burke, Bradley, Naismith; Bree, Mpanzu, Mendes, Bell; Clark, Adebayo, Jerome
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Travers; Stacey, Cahill, Kelly, Davis; Cook, Lerma, Billing; Christie, Solanke, Marcondes
We say: Luton Town 0-2 Bournemouth
Bournemouth will be keen to prove that they are fully over their mid-season blip and we think that the Cherries will be victorious here. Luton returned to action with a confidence-boosting win over fourth tier opposition last weekend but this is a different challenge entirely.
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 Bournemouth win with a probability of 46.02%. A draw had a probability of 27% and a win for Luton Town had a probability of 26.94%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bournemouth win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.74%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (8.88%) and 1-2 (8.87%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.72%), while for a Luton Town win it was 1-0 (9.13%). The actual scoreline of 3-2 was predicted with a 1.5% likelihood.
