Huddersfield v Luton
Monday April 11, 19:45
Sky Sports
Huddersfield pick up vital victory
Huddersfield remain in pole position for a Championship play-off place after overcoming 10-man Hull in their most recent outing last week. Harry Toffolo scored the only goal of the game just 11 minutes from time to end a recent run of three games without success and solidify the Terriers position in third place as we enter the business end of the campaign.
Having played with an extra man for the entire second half after Tom Eaves’ second yellow card just before the break, the frustration was palpable until Toffolo bundled home Tom Lees’ initial effort from Danel Sinani’s free-kick. Town survived a very late scare and to create a small cushion for themselves ahead of the chasing pack outside the top-six.
Having won the shot count 23-6, there was a sense of relief from head coach Carlos Corberan after the Hull game. He said, “We would have liked to have got the result sooner than we did but we found a way. When they lost a player we tried to put more balls into the box. We prevented them counter-attacking and blocked their way back into the game.”
Luton leak late on at Peterborough
Luton dropped valuable points in the race for a top-six finish when the Hatters conceded late on against rock-bottom Championship strugglers Peterborough last Tuesday. Town hit the front soon after the break when Fred Onyedinma fizzed a ball across the six-yard box where Danny Hylton tapped in. But Nathan Jones’ outfit conceded three minutes from time.
Luton, who would have climbed to third with a victory, remain fourth heading into the weekend but the battle for the play-offs has intensified as the campaign’s conclusion looms. The Hatters were second-best for the majority of the match – goalkeeper James Shea was called upon quite often as Town lost the shot count 18-9 at London Road.
Jones was understandably frustrated to concede a late leveller. He said, “We were 1-0 up after 85 minutes and just had to see the game out and we didn’t do that. We had a warning just before, then they scored and then could have won it. We probably should have lost the game. We’ve been nowhere near our best – I’m a bit frustrated we didn’t see the game out.”
Huddersfield will hope to end a five-game winless league run in head-to-head matches with Luton on Monday night (W0-D3-L2). The Terriers have failed to better the Hatters since the final day of the 2007/08 season, although the most recent three match-ups between the pair have ended all-square, including a 0-0 stalemate back in October.
Huddersfield 2.486/4 were the Championship’s form team going back to the beginning of December as the Terriers put together an exceptional 17-game unbeaten streak. Back-to-back losses halted progress but the Terriers bounced back at Hull and remain difficult to beat, losing just seven of their 36 showdowns against sides outside of the top-two.
Only runaway leaders Fulham boast a better points return than Luton 3.3512/5 since the start of December. The Hatters have claimed W12-D4-L4 in their last 20 Championship fixtures, whilst recording eight clean sheets along the way. However, Town have posted only W2-D2-L6 on previous trips to top-13 outfits, shipping multiple goals in seven of those 10 tussles.
Huddersfield’s outings favour a low-scoring approach with Carlos Corberan’s side returning rock-solid defensive numbers. Only Sheffield United (17) have kept more shutouts than the Terriers’ tally of 16, suggesting Monday night’s fixture could prove to be quite a tight affair, especially considering what’s at stake for both sides in the race for a top-six finish.
Luton have scored in their past league fixtures but Both Teams To Score has proven to be a rarity with a 45% hit-rate for the Hatters across their season, as well as when taking to the road. The same wager has provided profit in only eight of Huddersfield’s 19 home dates, making the 1.9110/11 available on Both Teams To Score ‘No’ an appealing option.
