Luton Town will be looking to extend their recently revitalised home record, but face a Preston North End side who possess a brilliant record away from Deepdale. 

The Hatters recorded a 0-0 draw away to Coventry City last time out, as they continued to show their newfound resilience at the back, whilst the game also highlighted their difficulties up top.

Elsewhere, Preston made it three games unbeaten with just their second win of the season at home against Middlesbrough. 

Team news

Matty Pearson will be available for The Hatters on Saturday, having served his one-match ban on Tuesday night following his red card against Swansea City. 

James Bree is also likely to be available, but if The Hatters continue with the system that saw Jordan Clark fill in as a right back, Bree may only make the bench.

Preston midfielder Daniel Johnson also served a one-match suspension midweek and would normally just slot straight back into the starting lineup.

However, the performance against Middlesbrough and the subsequent 3-0 victory could mean that he will find himself on the bench.

Predicted lineups

Luton:

Shea; Clark, Lockyer, Pearson, Bradley Potts; Rea, Dewsbury-Hall, Ruddock; Collins, Moncur.

Preston:

Rudd; Fisher, Huntington, Davies, Hughes; Browne, Ledson; Potts, Johnson, Sinclair; Stockley.

Ones to watch 

After only appearing for 20 minutes against Coventry, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall will be refreshed and eager to go against Preston come Saturday. 

He has been a standout performer for The Hatters since his loan move from Leicester City and brings additional quality in the central areas. He is a player who likes to drive forward with the ball and is always in search for the killer pass to set up his teammates. He will not stop moving and is a nightmare for the opposing midfielder to keep quiet.

For the visitors, Scott Sinclair has caused his opposition a lot of trouble already this season. 

He is a direct runner who will always look to attack his full-back and commit opposing defenders before jinking past them. He also grabbed the opener when the two teams met in June, so The Hatters will know what kind of impact to expect from the 31-year-old. 

Previous meetings

The pair last met in the first game back from the Covid-enforced break as the game ended 1-1. At the time it was a disappointing result for both clubs, with Luton in a desperate situation at the foot of the table, whilst Preston were competing for a play-off position. 

Sinclair opened the scoring in the 52nd minute after he was given a lot of space on the left flank. In the 87th minute, The Hatters drew level through Callum McManaman with a fine strike from just outside the area. 

In the reverse fixture - which incidentally occurred this time last year - Preston forward and former Hatter Jayden Stockley secured all three points for The Lilywhites in the 84th minute in a 2-1 victory. 

Kick off time and how to watch 

The game kicks off at 3:00pm BST and is available to purchase on the respective club's iFollow system. 

Luton fans click here:

Preston fans click here:

Manager thoughts 

Preston boss Alex Neil expects a different type of test to the one they faced in June. 

“I watched them against Cardiff and they started as a 4-3-3, changed to a 3-4-3, played a 3-5-2 against Coventry, so they are really quite flexible in how they play this season.

“Nathan has evolved the team with his summer recruitment. He has recruited a number of players we were actually looking at ourselves and he has added layers in terms of formation changes, so they know how to fluctuate.

“They are more possession based than they were when we were last there. They are mid-table for possession across the league and, from what I have seen, they have started to build more from the back. They are different from what they were before.”