Luton vs Middlesbrough
England – Championship
Date: Friday, 2 August 2019
Kick-off at 19:45 UK/ 20:45 CET
Venue: Kenilworth Road (Luton).
Luton Town vs Middlesbrough Tips & Betting Preview
The newly promoted Luton will welcome Middlesbrough to Kenilworth Road for the opening match for the 2019/2012 English Championship season. Can they start the campaign with victory here? Read on to learn about Luton vs Middlesbrough betting tips and predictions.
The hosts came into this game behind consecutive promotions, but this season will be their toughest test. They have appointed Graeme Jones after losing Nathan Jones to Stoke during the previous campaign and the main goal is to guide the club to a safe place in the second level. However, it will be easier said than done. The departure of Jack Stacey to Bournemouth and James Justin to Leicester was a big blow and so far there have not been many new players coming in.
Luton must get a good test from Middlesbrough this weekend after Boro finished in 7th place last season. Boro slipped from a solid playoff place at the end of the campaign, with Tony Pulis sent off from the Riverside following a gloomy season with terrible football. That made the club demand a bolder forward style, but Pulis's former midfielder and former assistant Jonathan Woodgate seemed to be a risky choice when it
came to providing a more offensive style.
MAIN PREDICTION: DRAW
Luton has been promoted back to the second level after a great campaign in the third division. The Hatters won 27 of their 46 league matches, along with 13 draws and six defeats, claiming 94 surprising points along the way. Town are very strong at home, winning 16 wins and seven draws in the league. The team, now managed by Graeme Jones, has signed Martin Cranie, Brendan Galloway, Callum McManaman, Simon Sluga and Ryan Tunnicliffe this summer.
Middlesbrough fired Tony Pulis and brought former captain Jonathan Woodgate in the early summer. Tomas Mejias arrived, but Stewart Downing, Aden Flint and John Obi Mikel had left the Riverside Stadium. Boro was quite solid far from home in the league last season, winning ten, drawing seven and losing six. Overall, Middlesbrough finished points and places outside the playoff place in seventh.
Luton will hope to make Kenilworth Road a fortress again this season. Last season, the Hatters were unbeaten at home in the third division, but Middlesbrough won ten times on the road in the second tier, with only five other teams beating that record. This is a difficult call, so withdraw the draw.
SECOND PREDICT: HILO - LOW
Luton only sent 19 goals in 23 home league matches last season, while Middlesbrough only scored 1.1 league goals on average away from Riverside. I like this to be a low score meeting in Bedfordshire.
Luton vs Middlesbrough Head-to-head (h2h)
It's been a long time since both of them face to face.
The last match between the two clubs was in 1995.
Middlesbrough won nine matches against this opponent.
Luton has recorded 12 wins in h2h ties.
