Huddersfield Town welcome Luton Town to John Smith’s Stadium on Monday as they square off in the second leg of their Championship playoff semi-final with the tie delicately at 1-1.
Whichever side who wins will set up a showdown against either Nottingham Forest or Sheffield United at Wembley Stadium.
When the Championship playoff places were determined last weekend, these two sides would have felt that they had received the ideal draw as they seek to earn promotion to the Premier League.
As Carlos Corberan’s side were denied what appeared to be a clear penalty in the opening seconds, it gave the impression that Luton may let the occasion get to them, allowing their third-placed opponents to seize control ahead of the reverse fixture.
While both teams could argue that they could have taken a narrow lead into the second leg, the draw sets up a highly-anticipated contest with the two sets of supporters now dealing with a mixture of emotions.
Huddersfield are likely to be the more confident of the two with the Terriers having picked up 45 points from their 23 matches at the John Smith’s Stadium this season.
Just one of their four home losses have come since the start of December with eventual runners-up AFC Bournemouth outclassing them on that occasion.
However, they have responded with 10 points from a possible 12 since that setback, one of their wins coming as a 2-0 victory over the Hatters who lost two of their final four matches on their travels.
Nathan Jones’ side lost 7-0 to champions Fulham, but it is worth noting that Luton finished the regular campaign with the fifth-best away record.
Although they lost nine matches away from home, they were still able to collect 32 points, conceding just 26 goals in 22 games before shipping a bagful to the Cottagers.
Huddersfield Town vs Luton Town head to head
The two sides have previously met on 17 occasions across all competitions, where Huddersfield have claimed six victories while Luton have won five, and they have drawn in six. Luton have scored 18 goals and conceded 17. In their last five meetings, Huddersfield have won once while they have drawn in four.
Huddersfield Town 1-1 Luton Town 07/11/20
Luton Town 1-1 Huddersfield Town 06/02/21
Luton Town 0-0 Huddersfield Town 02/10/21
Huddersfield Town 2-0 Luton Town 11/04/22
Luton Town 1-1 Huddersfield Town 13/05/22
Huddersfield Town latest home form
Huddersfield have recently been on a good run of form at home, as they have been unbeaten in their four most recent matches. Their last home defeat came 3-0 against AFC Bournemouth on March 19 in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored eight goals and conceded six.
Huddersfield Town 0-3 AFC Bournemouth 19/03/22
Huddersfield Town 2-0 Luton Town 11/04/22
Huddersfield Town 2-2 Queens Park Rangers 15/04/22
Huddersfield Town 2-1 Barnsley 22/04/22
Huddersfield Town 2-0 Bristol City 07/05/22
Huddersfield Town latest away form
Huddersfield have recently been on a good run of form on the road, having been unbeaten in their four most recent matches. Their last away defeat came 2-0 against Millwall on March 16 in the league. In their last five away matches, they have scored six goals and conceded four.
Millwall 2-0 Huddersfield Town 16/03/22
Hull City 0-1 Huddersfield Town 01/04/22
Middlesbrough 0-2 Huddersfield Town 18/04/22
Coventry City 1-2 Huddersfield Town 30/04/22
Luton Town 1-1 Huddersfield Town 13/05/22
Luton Town latest home form
Luton have recently been on a good run of form at home, having been unbeaten in their six most recent matches. They played out a 1-1 draw with Huddersfield Town in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored six goals and conceded four.
Luton Town 2-2 Millwall 02/04/22
Luton Town 1-0 Nottingham Forest 15/04/22
Luton Town 1-1 Blackpool 23/04/22
Luton Town 1-0 Reading 07/05/22
Luton Town 1-1 Huddersfield Town 13/05/22
Luton Town latest away form
Luton have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having won just two of their five most recent matches. They were defeated 7-0 by Fulham in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored five goals and conceded 11.
Hull City 1-3 Luton Town 19/03/22
Peterborough United 1-1 Luton Town 05/04/22
Huddersfield Town 2-0 Luton Town 11/04/22
Cardiff City 0-1 Luton Town 18/04/22
Fulham 7-0 Luton Town 02/05/22
Huddersfield Town news
Having sustained an injury towards the end of the first half, Ollie Turton may miss out for Huddersfield with Pipa likely to deputise on the right-hand side.
Despite Sorba Thomas having impressed on his return from a knee injury, the winger may be reserved rather than returning to the starting lineup.
Luton Town news
Luton’s main injury concern comes in midfielder Henri Lansbury, who needed to be withdrawn ahead of the final quarter on Friday.
Tom Lockyer could be drafted into the starting lineup after replacing him, while leading marksman Elijah Adebayo may be fit enough to take a spot on the substitutes’ bench.
Prediction and Odds
Having kept themselves in the tie ahead of the trip to Yorkshire, Luton will feel less pressure with Huddersfield still the clear favourites to progress.
The hosts home form have been impressive in recent occasions, something that cannot be ignored, leading us to back them to take all three points.
Odds: 1 1.90 X 2.00 2 2.26
Probable outcomes
Huddersfield Town 1-0 Luton Town
Huddersfield Town 2-0 Luton Town
Huddersfield Town 2-1 Luton Town
Huddersfield Town 3-1 Luton Town
Huddersfield Town 3-2 Luton Town
