Luton Town vs Millwall

A keenly-contested battle for the top six spots in the EFL Championship is heating up as Luton Town and Millwall face off against each other at Kenilworth Road.

Despite being handed a month to work on the training ground and properly assess his squad, Luton Town’s new boss Rob Edwards marked his touchline debut with a 2-1 loss at Middlesbrough last weekend. Having won just once in their seven Championship outings preceding this contest (D3, L3), the ‘Hatters’ have understandably lost ground on the playoff pace, falling four points behind sixth-placed Preston North End. A long-awaited return to Kenilworth Road may not necessarily inspire a comeback, especially considering Luton’s propensity for drawing their home league matches. Indeed, a league-high seven of their 11 Championship home fixtures this season have ended level (W2, D2), including the last three in a row. Luton’s bid to defy their unwanted reputation as ‘stalemate specialists’ looks far-fetched, as each of their three previous home league H2Hs has yielded a scoring draw.

As for visiting Millwall, an underwhelming 1-1 home draw with relegation-battling Wigan Athletic in the first post-World Cup round marked their fifth winless Championship game in the last six (D3, L2). Despite going through a tumultuous period, the ‘Lions’ are still only two points below the Premier League playoff line. But to stay within touching distance of Preston, the visitors will have to overcome a troublesome four-match away form in the Championship (W1, D1, L2). That’s easier said than done because they have failed to get on the scoreboard in three of those four fixtures. Scoring has been an issue for Millwall this term, especially on the road, with only 37% of their Championships goals in 2022/23 coming outside The Den (10/27).