Preview: Bournemouth vs. Luton Town - prediction, team news, lineups

Championship leaders Bournemouth will hope to continue their strong start to the season when they host Luton Town on Saturday.

The Cherries are two points clear at the top of the second tier, while Luton are three points off the playoffs in 12th – the same position they finished last season.

Match preview

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Bournemouth are one of just two Championship sides yet to lose a league game this season, along with third-place West Bromwich Albion.

The south coast side recorded a third successive victory last weekend as Philip Billing's second-half strike proved enough to beat Cardiff City 1-0.

Scott Parker described his side's performance in South Wales as "superb" and he will have been delighted with his start to life as Cherries boss.

With a trip to struggling Peterborough United to come next week, Parker may sense an opportunity to build as much early season momentum as possible in the club's promotion bid.

However, Bournemouth have not won any of their last four league encounters with Luton since they met in League One in 2008.

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The current Hatters side are winless in their last five matches, drawing four games in succession; they have not gone six without a win since January 2020.

Last weekend, Nathan Jones's men were 3-0 up after 23 minutes against Swansea City, but threw away their lead in extraordinary fashion, conceding a 92nd-minute equaliser to draw 3-3.

It summed up Luton's defensive woes, with only Peterborough United and Reading conceding more than the Hatters (14) in the Championship so far this season.

The Bedfordshire outfit host another of the second tier's early pacesetters Coventry City next week, so need to tighten up at the back pretty quickly.

Team News

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Ben Pearson and Jefferson Lerma have both shaken off knocks picked up in Bournemouth's win over Cardiff and are fit to play.

Parker is unlikely to make too many changes, if any, to his starting XI, but David Brooks is pushing to start after sitting out last weekend.

Lewis Cook and Junior Stanislas are the only absentees for the Cherries, with Parker praising "not luck, [but] hard work" for his squad's relatively clean bill of health.

In comparison, head coach Jones has described Luton's injury list as "unprecedented", with Danny Hylton the latest player to be sidelined.

Fred Onyedinma, Admiral Muskwe, Allan Campbell, Amari'i Bell and Sonny Bradley are also currently unavailable for the Hatters.

Elijah Adebayo's two goals against Swansea last weekend were his first since the opening day of the season, so he will hope this allows him to kick start a so far frustrating campaign.

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Travers; Smith, Cahill, Kelly, Zemura; Christie, Lerma, Billing; Brooks, Solanke, Anthony

Luton Town possible starting lineup:
Sluga; Lockyer, Burke, Naismith; Bree, Rea, Lansbury, Mpanzu, Osho; Adebayo, Cornick

We say: Bournemouth 3-0 Luton Town

It is difficult to see this confident Bournemouth team not emerging victorious against a depleted Luton side. The Hatters may still be shaken after throwing away a three-goal lead last weekend, allowing the Cherries to breeze past them and retain top spot.