Luton Town will be bidding to make it three Championship victories in a row when they welcome Blackpool to Kenilworth Road on Saturday afternoon.

The home side are currently fourth in the table, six points ahead of seventh-placed Millwall in the race to secure a playoff spot, while Blackpool sit down in 16th position in England's second tier.

Match preview

Luton took a huge step towards securing a spot in the Championship playoffs when they recorded a 1-0 win over Cardiff City on Monday, with Harry Cornick's brilliant header proving to be the difference between the two sides.

Nathan Jones's side currently sit fourth in the table, six points clear of seventh-placed Millwall on the same number of matches (43), while they are just two points behind third-placed Huddersfield Town.

Only a collapse would prevent the Hatters from finishing in the top six, but they do have a tricky end to the season, talking on Fulham and Reading in their final two matches of the regular campaign, while Blackpool will enter this match full of confidence due to their thumping 6-1 win over Birmingham City last time out.

Luton were a Conference team as recent as 2014, so it would be a remarkable story if they managed to secure a spot in the Premier League for the first time in their history, but a lot would have to happen for that dream to become a reality.

Jones's team have picked up 39 points from their 21 home league fixtures this season, and they will be taking on a Blackpool outfit with one of the poorer away records in the second tier this term, picking up only 20 points from their 20 matches on their travels.

As mentioned, Blackpool were excellent against Birmingham on Monday, running out 6-1 winners over Birmingham, with Jake Beesley, CJ Hamilton, Kenneth Dougall and Callum Connolly all on the scoresheet.

The Seasiders, who were promoted to the Championship through the League One playoffs last term, are currently 16th in the table, 10 points behind sixth-placed Sheffield United.

Blackpool can actually mathematically still make the playoffs, although an extraordinary set of events would have to happen for that to become possible, and it is almost certain that they will again play Championship football during the 2022-23 campaign.

Neil Critchley's side are only four points behind 12th-placed West Bromwich Albion, though, and will certainly be looking up the table rather than down at this late stage of the campaign.

Blackpool suffered a 3-0 loss to Luton in the reverse match earlier this season, but three of the last four meetings between the two sides have finished all square, including a 2-2 draw at the home of Luton in League One back in April 2019.

Team News

Luton will make a late call on goalkeeper James Shea, who picked up an injury against Cardiff on Monday, and it seems likely that Harry Isted will get the nod between the sticks.

James Bree and Fred Onyedinma are also expected to miss out with the issues that they picked up last time out, with the pair joining Jordan Clark, Luke Berry, Jed Steer, Cameron Jerome, Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu, Gabriel Osho and Glen Rea on the sidelines.

Cornick, who scored the winner on Monday, should replace Bree in the starting side, while Danny Hylton could get the nod in the final third of the field alongside Elijah Adebayo.

As for Blackpool, Daniel Grimshaw, Dujon Sterling, Luke Garrett, Sonny Carey and Grant Ward remain unavailable for selection through injury.

The Tangerines did not pick up any fresh problems against Birmingham last time out, though, so it would not be a surprise to see the same starting XI take to the field.

Beesley netted a brace against Birmingham and should continue in the final third of the field alongside Lavery, leaving Gary Madine and Jerry Yates on the bench once again.

Luton Town possible starting lineup:
Isted; Bell, Burke, Lockyer; Cornick, Campbell, Naismith, Snodgrass, Potts; Hylton, Adebayo

Blackpool possible starting lineup:
Maxwell; Connolly, Ekpiteta, Keogh, Husband; Hamilton, Anderson, Dougall, Kirk; Lavery, Beesley

We say: Luton Town 2-1 Blackpool

Luton are closing in on a spot in the playoffs, and we are expecting the home side to triumph here. Blackpool have a lot of talent in the forward areas and should be good enough for a goal on Saturday, but Luton should just about get there despite having a number of injury problems at the worst time of the season.

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