Nottingham Forest Vs Luton Town
Sunday 19th January 2020 – 12:00 Kick-Off (Live on Sky Sports)
English Championship
Pick: Nottingham Forest & Over 2.5 Goals
Odds: 27/20
Bookmaker: Sportingbet
(All betting odds displayed in this article were correct at time of writing: 15th January 2020 at 23:45)
Sunday’s offering from the EFL Championship sends struggling Luton, who are on a wicked run comprising of nine straight away league defeats, to the City Ground to tackle in-form Nottingham Forest.
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Table of Contents
Nottingham Forest Preview – Tricky Trees seeking brisk return to winning ways?
Sat fifth in the Championship table – two points ahead of seventh-placed Swansea but, crucially, having played a game less than all those either around or above them – there is a strong possibility of Nottingham Forest (5th – W12 D8 L6, GF35 GA26) at least making the play-offs come the end of the season. With this in mind, Sunday’s home encounter with the league’s poorest outfit simply has to be converted into three points.
Recent form suggests Forest should be trustworthy. Last week’s 1-1 draw away to Reading was the first instance of Sabri Lamouchi’s side squandering points for four matches, halting a run of three consecutive victories garnered from fixtures with Hull (0-2), Wigan (1-0) and Blackburn (3-2). This represents an impressive turnaround from form posted by them before Christmas, when a sequence of five games returned only two points.
A slight cause for concern might be their form at their City Ground since the start of the campaign. Of their twelve fixtures staged there, six produced winning outcomes (W6 D2 L4). Meanwhile, their scoring output when at home is, however, considerably down on their numbers produced on the road (14 at home compared with 21 away). Forest will nevertheless feel confident of inflicting a second loss of the season on Luton, who they beat 2-1 at Kenilworth Road on 2 November.
Luton Town Preview – Hatters rapidly descending into a hopeless cause?
Although the league table might not necessarily reflect this, things are looking decidedly bleak for Luton Town (24th – W6 D3 L18, GF33 GA58). Last week’s 2-1 loss at home to Birmingham made it three successive league defeats for Graeme Jones’ team, who have now claimed a single point – a 3-3 draw at home to Fulham on Boxing Day – from the last 21 available. That is six defeats in their last seven matches, which is certified relegation form.
On the flip side, The Hatters can take some comfort from knowing safety is a mere three points from reach. That is truly absurd bearing in mind this group of players has tasted defeat on twelve separate occasions in its past fifteen Championship encounters. No fewer than eight, meanwhile, were away from home – they are currently on a run of nine consecutive away defeats, having not won on the road since beating Blackburn 2-1 at Ewood Park at the end of September.
Expanding more on their away woes, no team has registered fewer points from their away fixtures in the English second tier this season than Luton (6 – W2 D0 L12). Their tally of 36 away goals conceded is also a standout figure in the division, shipping on average nearly three goals per away game and at least two across each of the last nine. Therefore only the boldest will bank on them turning their ailing fortunes around on Sunday, against a side they have already lost to on home soil earlier in the campaign.
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Betting Summary
The Championship table tells us there are 23 points separating Nottingham Forest in fifth from rock-bottom Luton Town. The former are in terrific form, taking ten of the last twelve available points after winning three of their last four league games, and have their sights firmly set on sustaining their promotion push. Whereas Luton are without a win in seven in the league, losing six, and have not managed to avoid defeat in any of their last nine away encounters.
Nottingham Forest Vs Luton – Key Facts:
- Nottingham Forest are unbeaten in four league games, three of which were wins including the last two staged at their City Ground stadium.
- Luton have been beaten in each of their previous nine away Championship fixtures, conceding at least two goals across this run.
- Their meeting at Kenilworth Road back in November was a first competitive meeting between the two for more than a decade: Forest ran out 2-1 winners.
It would be a significant shock were Nottingham Forest not to prevail here, and they should do so with a reasonable amount of comfort. Luton are a wretched away outfit, shipping at least two goals in every one of their current nine-game losing away run. Six involved them conceding three or more, while five were without managing a goal themselves. So it’s a case of take your pick from a Home Win to Nil or Nottingham Forest & Over 2.5 Goals.
Best Betting Odds for Nottingham Forest Vs Luton Town
Nottingham Forest – 11/17 Sportingbet
Draw – 10/3 Unibet
Luton Town – 23/5 Unibet
