STAR FOOTBALL PREVIEW Fri: Luton v Derby County

Luton Town have endured a miserable return to the Championship and the chances of Derby County ruining the Hatters’ Christmas looks underrated, writes WILLIAM KEDJANYI.

After performing with credit in the Premier League last season, finishing just six points off safety when many predicted they’d be bottom, hopes were high for a Luton promotion bid but they’ve been a huge letdown, sitting in 19th with only five points separating them and Portsmouth in the relegation zone.

The Hatters – who are “killing” their campaign with a number of basic errors that are being made according to Rob Edwards – are struggling with an injury crisis as Reece Burke, Alfie Doughty, Reuell Walters, Amari’i Bell, Shandon Baptiste, and Teden Mengi are all unavailable whilst their abysmal away record has kept them rooted to the bottom of the table.

Their one cause for hope is a strong record at Kenilworth Road – they’ve taken 18 of their 22 points at home – and the quality of players such as Carlton Morris, Elijah Adebayo, Taith Chong and others, but they will need to improve quickly if they are to stave off a relegation battle and they look short tonight.

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Luton Down v Derby County
Championship
20:00 Sky Sports Main Event / Sky Sports Football / Sky Sports Ultra HDR

LAST FIVE STATS

HEAD-TO-HEAD
FEB 2022 CHAMPIONSHIP Luton 1-0 Derby
OCT 2021 CHAMPIONSHIP Derby 2-2 Luton
APR 2021 CHAMPIONSHIP Derby 2-0 Luton
SEP 2020 CHAMPIONSHIP Luton 2-1 Derby
JAN 2020 CHAMPIONSHIP Luton 3-2 Derby

LUTON
DEC 2024 CHAMPIONSHIP Blackburn 2-0 Luton
DEC 2024 CHAMPIONSHIP Luton 2-1 Stoke
DEC 2024 CHAMPIONSHIP Luton 1-1 Swansea
NOV 2024 CHAMPIONSHIP Norwich 4-2 Luton
NOV 2024 CHAMPIONSHIP Leeds 3-0 Luton

DERBY COUNTY
DEC 2024 CHAMPIONSHIP Derby 4-0 Portsmouth
DEC 2024 CHAMPIONSHIP Burnley 0-0 Derby
DEC 2024 CHAMPIONSHIP Leeds 2-0 Derby
DEC 2024 CHAMPIONSHIP Derby 1-2 Sheff Wed
NOV 2024 CHAMPIONSHIP Derby 1-2 Swansea

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Derby have made an impressive adjustment to Championship football after their League One promotion, with Paul Warne’s side 14th after taking 24 points from 21 games so far.

They are arguably coming here off their best performance of the season when they smashed Portsmouth 4-0, ending a six-game winless run and leapfrogging their hosts with first half goals from Kane Wilson, Eiran Cashin and Ebou Adams.

They have lacked the attacking outlets that other clubs boast – striker Jerry Yates is their leading scorer with just four goals, and no goals in his last four appearances – but strong performances at Pride Park and plenty of hard work have seen them perform with credit so far this season.

Whilst Luton are too short for victory given their struggles this season, Derby’s away record is nothing to write home about – only Cardiff City, Oxford United and Wayne Rooney’s Plymouth Argyle have won fewer away contests – and the draw looks the value call here with starsports.bet for this intriguing Championship clash.

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