Preston vs Luton Prediction: New manager bounce at Deepdale

Paul Heckingbottom gets his first taste of life as manager of Preston North End when they welcome Luton Town to Deepdale on Saturday (15:00). The hosts have lost their opening two matches in the Championship and will be desperate to turn a corner. 

The Hatters themselves are waiting for their first win, having lost and drawn their first two fixtures. Read on for my Preston vs Luton prediction, accompanied by match odds and team news.

Preston vs Luton Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Preston vs Luton page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Preston are 11/5 to win this clash, giving them an implied probability of 31.3%. Luton are valued at 5/4 to take the victory, which gives them a 44.4% chance. The draw is available at 12/5 (29.4%).

Both teams to score is on offer at 4/6 and over 2.5 goals can be backed at 5/6.

Football Odds

Team News

It is hard to guess what Heckingbottom’s first Preston XI will look like as he will attempt to put his own stamp on the team. You expect him to make changes regardless after last week’s 3-0 defeat at Swansea City.

Luton will be forced into a change as James Shea will replace Thomas Kaminski in between the sticks after the former was sent off against Portsmouth last time out. The Hatters have welcomed Liam Walsh and Mark McGuinness to their squad this week, and both will be hoping to make their debuts at Deepdale, albeit most likely from the bench.

Draw @ 12/5

Heckingbottom will demand an instant response from the players he has inherited and I think having his first match at home will be a welcome start to his reign. Preston have been poor in their first two matches but after appointing someone with an excellent record at this level, I think we will see some improvement from them. I expect that new manager bounce to help them get their first point on the board.

Had the appointment not been made, I would have fancied Luton to collect their first win of the campaign, but now I think their wait will continue as a result. The Hatters should look the more dangerous of the two teams in this match, but Heckingbottom will firstly want his team organised and to limit the Hatters’ chances at goal.

I think he will earn a valuable first point in charge of his new club.

Both teams to score @ 4/6

I think both teams to score is a sensible selection for this match because the Preston players will want to impress their new manager, and they will want to give the supporters something to cheer about after having watched two defeats.

Luton may have managed one goal in the league so far but they possess two excellent strikers at this level in Carlton Morris and Elijah Adebayo, who scored a combined 21 goals in the Premier League last term.

Then there is Tahith Chong, who is off the mark already this campaign, and he will look to inflict some damage on a fragile Preston defence. Preston and Luton have conceded nine goals between them in two matches so far, so I think this market is worth backing on Saturday.

Offers

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