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Luton - Cardiff
England Championship - Kenilworth Road
Prediction 1
Luton to win
1/1 (2.00)
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Odds from
Prediction 2
BTTS
1/1 (2.00)
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Odds from
* Betting odds were correct at the time of publication but are subject to change.
We bring you Championship predictions of Luton vs Cardiff here with the game due to take place on Tuesday 31st January.
Luton vs Cardiff: Our top betting predictions
Cardiff are hovering dangerously close tot he relegation zone right now and a win over Luton would be a real boost to their survival hopes. Will they find a way of winning the match or will Luton be too strong for them? Find out with our Luton vs Cardiff match preview with free tips, predictions and odds mentioned along the way.
Contents
Luton to win
We kick off our predictions for this match by backing Luton to win. The Hatters endured a tough old FA Cup game at the weekend where they could only muster a draw with League Two Grimsby but we shouldn't read too much into that result – not as an isolated match anyway. The Grimsby draw extends Luton's unbeaten stretch to three games after they'd won back to back matches. Consecutive wins is something Cardiff can only dream of at the moment as well; they've not won a competitive games since November 5th; that was 12 games ago. Considering that, on top of that, that Luton have home advantage and have won each of the last two head to head meetings then anything but a home win feels unlikely.
Both teams will score
We now turn our focus to the both teams to score market and we are predicting ‘yes'. Luton have scored in each of their last five games whilst keeping just the one clean sheet; this means that 80% of their last five games have seen both teams score. Cardiff, despite their struggles for positive results, have also been finding the net without huge issues. They've scored in three of their last four matches whilst conceding in each of those four games; that's a ‘yes' rate of 75%. Two of the last three head to head meetings have also featured goals at both ends. With odds of evens (2.00), this looks like a good value tip.
Here are the key stats & form guide for Luton vs Cardiff
Head to Head
28/01/23
England Championship CHA
Luton
Cardiff
0
0
30/08/22
England Championship CHA
Cardiff
Luton
1
2
18/04/22
England Championship CHA
Cardiff
Luton
0
1
27/11/21
England Championship CHA
Luton
Cardiff
1
2
16/02/21
England Championship CHA
Luton
Cardiff
0
2
Last Five - Luton
30/08/24
England Championship CHA
QPR
Luton
2
1
L
27/08/24
England EFL Cup EFL Cup
QPR
Luton
1 (4)
1 (1)
L
24/08/24
England Championship CHA
Preston
Luton
1
0
L
17/08/24
England Championship CHA
Portsmouth
Luton
0
0
D
12/08/24
England Championship CHA
Burnley
Luton
4
1
L
Last Five - Cardiff
31/08/24
England Championship CHA
Middlesbrough
Cardiff
2
0
L
28/08/24
England EFL Cup EFL Cup
Southampton
Cardiff
5
3
L
25/08/24
England Championship CHA
Swansea
Cardiff
1
1
D
17/08/24
England Championship CHA
Burnley
Cardiff
5
0
L
13/08/24
England EFL Cup EFL Cup
Bristol Rovers
Cardiff
0
2
W
So, that gives you some insight to how the different bookmakers see the action unfolding. How though do the bookies odds translate into probabilities ahead of this game and how might that impact your view of our predictions? Let's find out.
Luton odds: 1/1 (2.00) – 50%
Draw odds: 7/3 (3.33) – 30%
Cardiff odds: 3/1 (4.00) – 25%
The betting odds will tell you that Luton are favourites but, actually, at evens (2.00) you can see that the bookies aren't seeing this as an absolute banker, which will in part be to shoddy results – like that aforementioned Grimsby draw – forming part of Luton's season despite an all round positive direction of travel. That being said, a 3/1 (4.00) price for Cardiff shows that the bookies don't remotely fancy them for the win. Is a draw the best they can expect?
Check out the predicted lineups ahead of Luton vs Cardiff
Luton
Luton come into this game with just a couple of days recovery after their FA Cup clash and arrive with a few faces ruled out due to injury including their experienced centre back Sonny Bradley. Bradley's omission won't be the only notable omission from the Luton backline though. James Bree has recently joined former boss Nathan Jones at Southampton and therefore we'll see a different right back too – probably recent addition Cody Drameh.
Predicted lineup – Horvath, Potts, Lockyer, Osho, Drameh, Clark, Watson, Ruddock Mpanzu, Bell, Cornick, Adebayo
Cardiff
From a pure availability perspective Cardiff have the ability to make changes to their last team selection with only Mahlon Romeo and Jamilu Collins out with injuries but, actually, although they lost their last match they were much improved from a performance view. That could see the Bluebirds go with an unchanged XI here.
Predicted lineup – Allsop, McGuinness, Kipre, O'Dowda, Wintle, Rinomhota, Ojo, Robinson, Philogene-Bidace, Etete
Starting Lineups
Luton
Cardiff
*Starting lineups are usually announced one hour prior to kick off.
Player to watch
In a game where we're predicting both teams score, it is perhaps natural that our player to watch is a striker. Specifically, we're highlighting Luton's Elijah Adebayo. He's scored goals in each of his last four games so is very much a man in good form.
Check out the latest standings
| # | Team | P | W | D | L | +/- | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  West Brom | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| 2 |  Sunderland | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 12 |
| 3 |  Blackburn | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 11 |
| 4 | Burnley | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 10 |
| 5 |  Watford | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 10 |
| 6 |  Sheff Utd | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 9 |
| 7 |  Oxford Utd | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| 8 |  Derby | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| 9 |  Leeds | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| 10 |  Middlesbrough | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| 11 |  Swansea | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 12 |  QPR | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | -1 | 6 |
| 13 |  Stoke | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 6 |
| 14 |  Coventry | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -1 | 5 |
| 15 |  Norwich | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -2 | 5 |
| 16 |  Plymouth | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -4 | 5 |
| 17 |  Bristol City | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -5 | 5 |
| 18 |  Millwall | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 19 | Luton | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -4 | 4 |
| 20 |  Sheff Wed | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -5 | 4 |
| 21 |  Preston | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -6 | 4 |
| 22 |  Hull | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | -4 | 3 |
| 23 |  Portsmouth | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | -5 | 3 |
| 24 | Cardiff | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | -10 | 1 |
A quickfire FAQ on Luton vs Cardiff
- Where is the match being played? – Kenilworth Road
- Who do the bookmakers have as favourites? – Luton
- What time does the match kick off? 19:45 GMT
- Which referee will be in charge of Luton vs Cardiff Championship clash? Geoff Eltringham will be the match referee on Tuesday, 31st 2023.
- What is the capacity of the match venue? Kenilworth Road has a seating capacity of 10,226.
- How did Luton and Cardiff fare against each other in the last five encounters? Luton has 2 wins from the last five duels while Cardiff bagged 3 victories during that period.
- How did the Championship teams perform in the reverse encounter? Luton won 2-1 away from home in the first leg this season.
- What is the average point per match for Luton's head coach? Rob Edwards averages 1.89 points per match after 9 matches in charge at Luton. He has 5 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses so far.
- What is the average point per match for Cardiff's head coach? Dean Whitehead averages 0.00 points since taking over at Cardiff, having be in charge of just one match and lost. He previously managed Huddersfield U17, so this will be his second game with Cardiff.
