1 week Ago
Luton Town will continue their Championship survival bid when they welcome Blackburn Rovers to Kenilworth Road on Saturday. With five games left to play, the Hatters are languishing in 23rd place in the Championship table , while the visitors are in 12th position. © Imago Luton may be in the bottom three, but they have proven to be a tough team to beat in recent weeks, having avoided defeat in each of their last five matches since losing 4-0 away to Burnley on March 8.
The Hatters recorded away wins against Cardiff City and Hull City, either side of a goalless home draw with Middlesbrough, before they held promotion-chasing Leeds United to a 1-1 draw in last Saturday's clash at Kenilworth Road. Luton then required a late goal to rescue a point in Tuesday's away clash against Stoke City, with Millenic Alli scoring a stoppage-time equaliser to cancel out Lewis Baker 's opener at the bet365 Stadium. As a result of that 1-1 scoreline, Matt Bloomfield 's side remain one point adrift of safety, with five matches left to play against Blackburn, Derby County, Bristol City, Coventry City and West Bromwich Albion.
Three of those five matches will take place at Kenilworth Road, but that does not automatically mean success, given the fact they have won just one of their previous eight home games (D4, L3). However, the hosts can draw inspiration from the fact they have not lost any of their 22 home league matches against Rovers (W13, D9). © Imago Blackburn have dropped out of playoff contention after failing to win any of their last eight matches since beating Plymouth Argyle on February 15.
Seven of those games have taken place under Valerien Ismael , who has overseen two draws and five defeats during his short time in charge. In fact, Rovers lost five consecutive matches until they fought back from two goals down to take a point off Sheffield Wednesday in midweek, courtesy of efforts from Tyrhys Dolan and Yuki Ohashi . After rescuing a point from Tuesday's home outing, Blackburn will now head on their travels for Saturday's fixture, with the visitors looking to improve upon a run of results which has seen them lose eight of their previous 10 away league matches (W1, D1).
They have also failed to score more than one goal in nine of those 10 road trips, highlighting a key area for improvement if they are to end their wait for an away league win over Luton. Rovers have the chance to complete a league double over the Hatters after claiming a 2-0 victory in December's away fixture following goals from Amario Cozier-Duberry and Owen Beck . © Imago Luton forward Jacob Brown has been ruled out for the rest of the season after he sustained an ankle injury last month, while Elijah Adebayo is a doubt after he missed the midweek draw with Stoke.
Wing-back Alfie Doughty was forced off in the 17th minute of Tuesday's contest, making him a fitness concern for Saturday's home clash. Marvelous Nakamba and Shandon Baptiste are closing in on a return to action, with the former in contention to return to action this weekend. As for Blackburn, Beck and Hayden Carter are expected to miss the rest of the season after the pair picked up injuries in last month's defeat to Portsmouth.
The visitors are also without the services of Callum Brittain , Scott Wharton , Augustus Kargbo , Harry Leonard , Andreas Weimann and Emmanuel Dennis . Joe Rankin-Costello will have to be assessed by Blackburn's medical staff after he was forced off in the first half against Sheffield Wednesday with an adductor injury. Luton Town possible starting lineup: Kaminski; Makosso, McGuinness, Bell; Jones, Walsh, Clark, Aasgard, Chong; Alli, Morris Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup: Pears; Montgomery, Hyam, Batth, Ribeiro; Tronstad, Travis; Dolan, Cantwell, Hedges; Ohashi Luton have proven to be a much tougher team to beat in recent times, and we think they extend their five-game unbeaten run by claiming a narrow win over Blackburn side that have lost eight of their previous 10 Championship away matches, including each of their last four road trips.
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