The last weekend of Sky Bet Championship action prior to the international break begins at Kenilworth Road on Friday evening when promotion favourites Luton Town play host to Queens Park Rangers.
This will be the second time these two have met in the space of three days after they faced off in the Carabao Cup in London on Tuesday night. QPR picked up a penalties win but both sides are looking for a first Championship win of the season here.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football channels with the build-up in Bedfordshire beginning at 7.30pm ahead of the 8pm kick off.
Luton Town
Luton Town started the season with high expectations around them after the extremely positive display they gave in the Premier League last season, but as with a number of clubs who drop out of the top flight they haven’t yet caught fire in the second tier and begin the weekend second from bottom in the Championship table. Manager Rob Edwards isn’t panicking yet and neither should he be but he’ll know that some of the heat can come off his side if they can pick up a win to take into the international break with them.
Luton were absolutely thrashed by Burnley in their opening match in the campaign but since then they have been a little unfortunate. They were by far the better side at Portsmouth until goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski had a rush of blood to the head and got himself sent off and then they created chances galore at Preston in their last match. Finding the back of the net has been an issue for the Hatters so far but we saw last season that they have goals in them once they start to flow.
QPR
Although it wouldn’t have been to the same levels, there would have been a bit of optimism around QPR heading into the new season too. They finished the previous one really well under Marti Cifuentes and logically it would have stood to reason that with a pre-season under the Spaniard and a transfer window where he can mould the squad the way he would have wanted it, that improvement would naturally follow but that hasn’t been the case in terms of results.
QPR opened up the season with a tame loss to West Brom before they came from 2-0 down to pick up one of the two points that they have at Sheffield United. That was a game they could easily have lost though and then they failed to beat Plymouth Argyle at home in the league last weekend, although they might be wondering how they didn’t win that game when you consider that they had 31 shots in the match. Much like their opposition here, they would find a win before the international break very welcome.
Special Offer
Sign up for a Boylesports account and bet £10 to get up to £20 in free bets! Perfect offer for the Sky Bet Championship! Click the image below for this great offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Team News
Rob Edwards only made five changes to his ranks for the Carabao Cup tie between the two in midweek. Teden Mengi and Mark McGuinness both missed the game and are expected to return but Marvelous Nakamba and Reece Burke might have to do with spots on the bench.
QPR boss Marti Cifuentes made more changes to his side for that cup clash and he is expected to bring the likes of Paul Smyth, Sam Field and Michael Frey back into the starting XI for the trip to Kenilworth Road.
Betting
This is a bit of a tricky game to call, not least because the two faced off less than 72 hours before this one kicks off. I think Luton Town are worthy favourites but it is clear that it isn’t clicking in front of goal for them at the minute whereas I expected a lot more from QPR after the way they ended last season and that hasn’t really happened either. Luton dominated the game at Loftus Road in midweek but Rangers fans will be quick to point out their side made wholesale changes and that has to be taken into account.
Given the current doubts over both sides I’ll play a stats bet here. While changes were made in midweek, Luton kept their front three in their side and three of the regular QPR back four played and the other came off the bench at half time so Luton’s attacking stats from that game look genuine and with that in mind, I think a play on Luton to have more than 6.5 corners is a good bet. Luton won 13 of them at Preston last week and another 12 of them against QPR in midweek and while those numbers are probably on the extreme levels of where they will get to, I certainly expect them to be pushing double figures in both games because they bomb their wide players forward and look to get in behind the opposition out wide and get crosses into the box. I’ve highlighted Luton aren’t clicking in front of goal but opposing keepers have been a reason for that and saved shots could well go for corners too. The general play of Luton since that opening game has been very strong and they are controlling possession. I expect them to play on the front foot here, get up the pitch and win a number of corners. Seven feels well within their reach.
Tips
Back Luton – Over 6.5 corners for a 3/10 stake at 2.25 with Sky Bet
