Lutonvs.Bournemouth

The Hatters' midweek sojourn to Arsenal ended in an expected 2-0 defeat, whereas Andoni Iraola's side edged closer to the top 10 by eking out a 1-0 triumph over Crystal Palace.

Match preview

Four days on from putting in a terrific shift against Tottenham Hotspur, only to suffer a 2-1 defeat, a similar tale arose for Luton in North London on Wednesday night, when they sought to prevent Arsenal from rising back to the top of the Premier League standings.

Rob Edwards's men - despite their unenviable injury list - did not roll over and accept defeat versus the Gunners, who often struggled to pick the Luton lock, but Martin Odegaard's drive and a Daiki Hashioka own goal at the end of the first half was enough to send the Hatters home empty-handed.

In spite of their valiant efforts in their successive North London encounters, Luton remain without a Premier League win since thrashing Brighton & Hove Albion 4-0 at the end of January, only acquiring three points from the last 30 on offer in the top flight to remain in deep trouble.

Thanks to Nottingham Forest's triumph over Fulham, Edwards's men occupy 18th place with a three-point gap to safety, and by failing to make one of their few forays forward against Arsenal count in midweek, their 18-game scoring streak in the Premier League also came to a bitter end.

The relegation-battling hosts still possess a taste for goals at Kenilworth Road, though, netting in 11 straight top-flight home matches since being shut out by Tottenham Hotspur in October, although Edwards's men are also without a clean sheet in their last four on home territory.

As Luton fight for their lives near the foot of the table, a resurgent Bournemouth have rediscovered their stellar form from the Christmas period to threaten a top-half breakthrough, extending their winning sequence to three matches when Palace visited the Vitality.

Three days on from a dramatic beating of Everton, Iraola's men prolonged the feel-good factor on the South Coast by virtue of Justin Kluivert's strike with 11 minutes of normal time remaining, which proved to be the decisive moment in a closely-fought affair.

Unbeaten since suffering FA Cup quarter-final heartbreak at the hands of Leicester City at the end of February, 11th spot in the Premier League table currently belongs to the red-hot Cherries, although they will drop down a place if Chelsea can at least take a point from their meeting with Manchester United on Thursday.

Then again, each of Bournemouth's last four matches has been played at the comfort of their Vitality home, whereas they boast just one victory from their last five Premier League contests on rival turf, although that was their most recent stopover - a 2-0 win on Burnley's soil at the start of March.

Nevertheless, three points on Saturday would see Bournemouth match their best-ever Premier League tally of six away wins in a single season - set in the 2015-16 term - and it has been just three weeks since the Cherries pulled off an outrageous comeback in March's rearranged clash with Luton, fighting back from 3-0 down to miraculously triumph 4-3.

Luton Town Premier League form:

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Bournemouth Premier League form:

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Bournemouth form (all competitions):

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Team News

Edwards ought to have breathed a huge sigh of relief to see no more of his troops pick up injuries in the loss to Arsenal, where Tahith Chong and Alfie Doughty both shook off knocks sustained in the Tottenham defeat to make the matchday squad.

However, Reece Burke (Achilles) could not recover in time and is a doubt alongside Gabriel Osho (knee), while Jacob Brown (knee), Amari'i Bell (thigh), Elijah Adebayo (thigh), Marvelous Nakamba (knee), Albert Sambi Lokonga (thigh), Mads Andersen (calf), Dan Potts (thigh) and Chiedozie Ogbene (thigh) remain out of contention.

The hosts' fitness crisis allowed Fred Onyedinma to make his first Premier League start at the Emirates on Wednesday, and having held his own against the title chasers on the right-hand side, the 27-year-old warrants a second successive selection to the first XI.

As far as Bournemouth are concerned, the Cherries' treatment room has begun to empty out in recent weeks, with only Ryan Fredericks (calf) and Luis Sinisterra (thigh) definitely missing from the ranks this week.

Marcos Senesi may lose his race to recover from a thigh injury in time though, but Bournemouth's defensive unit could still be bolstered by the return of Chris Mepham, absent from the squad to square off with Palace due to illness.

Highly-rated midfielder Alex Scott only lasted until half time against Crystal Palace and is seemingly at risk of losing his place to Antoine Semenyo or Kluivert, who needs just one more goal to match the six that his esteemed father Patrick Kluivert struck for Newcastle United in the Premier League.

Luton Town possible starting lineup:

Kaminski; Hashioka, Mengi, Kabore; Onyedinma, Mpanzu, Barkley, Doughty; Townsend, Clark; Morris

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:

Neto; Smith, Mepham, Zabarnyi, Kelly; Cook, Christie; Semenyo, Billing, Kluivert; Solanke

We say: Luton Town 1-2 Bournemouth

Saturday's competitors certainly have a lot to live up to after last month's seven-goal extravaganza at the Vitality Stadium, and neutral fans wishing for a repeat of that engrossing encounter will likely see their pleas fall on deaf ears.

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