Hull City welcome Luton Town to MKM Stadium in Friday Night Football in 2022-23 Sky Bet Championship.
Victory would see Hull rise up to 11th in the table and leapfrog their visitors who currently occupy that position, whereas Luton can go fifth with a win.
Team News
Harvey Vale is ruled out for Hull after he suffered a groin injury whilst on youth international duty for England.
Dogukan Sinik (calf) could feature as a substitute if he passes a late fitness test, having resumed training during the international break.
Brandon Fleming (foot), James Scott (shin), Allah Sayyadmanesh (hamstring), Salah-Eddine Oulad M’Hand (groin) and Vaughn Covil (knee) are all ruled out.
Luton manager – Nathan Jones could welcome Alfie Doughty into contention for the first time this season, after the midfielder missed their opening 10 matches with a hamstring injury.
Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu (knee) is unlikely to feature but is nearing a first-team return, having featured for the Under-21s squad in midweek.
Stat Attack
- Hull have claimed 10 points from their last seven league meetings against Luton (W3, D1, L3).
- Luton are unbeaten in four visits to Hull since the second tier was rebranded as ‘Championship’ (W3, D1).
- Luton’s Elijah Adebayo scored in both meetings against Hull last season (W2), with both of his goals scored in the opening nine minutes.
- Hull have kept just one clean sheet in all competitions this season (W3, D2, L6).
- Three of Luton’s five league goals scored away from home have been scored after half-time.
Prediction
Having seen their early-season form crash with just one win in their last six league matches and a tough injury crisis, Hull would of been thankful for the international break but they now need to reset and rediscover their strong goal-scoring form.
Their end product in particular has been lacklustre especially last time out, in a 3-0 away loss at Swansea but their woeful second-half man-marking and defensive press ultimately were their downfall, so I would like to see a more solid defensive effort and better finishing to their attacks.
Luton meanwhile have found form with just one defeat in their last six matches, whilst they delivered a clinical attacking display to beat Blackburn last time out in a game where they grew in intensity throughout to dominate their rivals.
Now if Jones’ Hatters can come out and hit their stride early on against a weak-looking Hull defence, I can see a comfortable away win, yet Hull do have a decent attack who just need to reset after a difficult month so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a competitive attacking battle.
I though do feel like Luton should edge this given their current form and reduced injury crisis, although Hull won’t make this easy if they can find improvement.
Prediction: Hull 1-2 Luton
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