Luton vs Preston prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2022-08-12 14:00.
A pair of draws to open the league season perhaps wasn’t the start Luton had dreamt of, a start compounded by losing in the EFL Cup midweek to lower-league opposition, but manager Nathan Jones’ disappointment at not triumphing against relegated Burnley suggests they’re still aiming high after their play-off semi-final appearance last year.
As one of the top-performing home sides since the start of last season (W12, D8, L4), the Hatters clearly enjoy their home comforts, just as they did in home H2Hs with Preston this century (W4, D1). Putting games to bed has been an issue though, with Luton failing to score more than once in each of their last five Championship home games, their longest such run in over a year!
Another of the four sides to begin their Championship season with a pair of frustrating stalemates is Preston, but the wait to see a goal at either end should realistically end here as the Lilywhites have never recorded three straight goalless draws in the Championship! Boss Ryan Lowe recently commended the resilience of his backline, but will know more is needed in order to progress up the league table.
Despite a fine 4-1 midweek cup win at Huddersfield, picking up results on the road in the league hasn’t been easy for Preston of late, with just one win across their last seven Championship road trips casting doubt over their chances this time around (D3, L3). Another stalemate is a distinct possibility though, as all of Preston’s last seven away draws came when beginning the day as pre-match outsiders (W4, D7, L9).
Key battle: Luke Freeman made his first goal contribution for Luton last time out and one more would already secure his highest contributing season since 2018/19! Trying to stop that from happening will be new Preston stopper Freddie Woodman, the former Newcastle man has faced 11 shots on target without conceding since joining the club.
Hot stat: Luton failed to win 53% of their last 17 home league games as pre-match favourites (W8, D5, L4).