Huddersfield vs Luton prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2022-12-31 15:00.
Huddersfield Town defeated Rotherham 2-0 on Thursday, marking back-to-back wins for the first time this season and lifting them off the bottom of the table with a game in hand over the teams below. Coach Mark Fotheringham felt their sixth clean sheet of the league campaign “was very positive” and his side have now earnt the chance to potentially move out of the relegation zone with a win on New Year’s Day.
They’ll need to defy a recent trend however, as Huddersfield have lost four of their last five opening league games of a calendar year, with the lone exception being last year’s goalless draw. Another stalemate shouldn’t be ruled out as Huddersfield have drawn five of their last seven matches (W2) against Luton Town, including the 3-3 result in October.
Such a prospect might be considered as dropped points for the visitors who are in the playoff mix after a Carlton Morris brace on Thursday helped them defeat QPR 3-0. Manager Rob Edwards is not ready to let the guard down yet though, claiming “I still want more” after that victory, possibly hinting at Luton’s failure to win three games in a row this season, something they could achieve here.
The Hatters have been steady on their travels this league campaign (W6, D2, L4) but three of their four losses have come in their last five away games meaning they might be cautious here. Adopting a passive approach early on means they could lean on a defence which has kept five clean sheets across their last eight league road trips, which is as many as in their previous 16 Championship away games!
Players to watch: Huddersfield’s Sorba Thomas has provided three career assists against Luton, his joint-personal highest in all competitions. His side will need to keep an eye on Luton’s Elijah Adebayo early on however, with the forward’s last seven Championship goals arriving before half-time including a brace in the reverse fixture.
Hot streak: Huddersfield are yet to lose this league campaign after taking the lead (W7, D2) while Luton are yet to win after falling behind (D2, L6) at any stage.