THE David Moyes era at West Ham United is ending with a whimper instead of a roar and that will give Luton Town plenty of encouragement as they seek three precious points in their fight for Premier League survival.
The Hammers announced earlier this week that the Scot would be standing down this summer after a four-and-a-half year reign that included Europa Conference League glory and Europa League semi-final.
But Moyes never really had the fans behind him and grumbles were growing louder after a six-game run without a win that culminated in a 5-0 battering by Chelsea.
Luton Town's form is even worse, with one victory in 16 games, but they remain just three points adrift of safety. A win at the London Stadium would give them a fighting chance of catching Nottingham Forest so the Hatters will be going all out for a vital victory.
How the bookies view it: Hatters the outsiders
With Luton Town in such dismal form it's no surprise to see them as 3/1 outsiders (888Sport). West Ham's best price is just 17/20 (BetMGM) while the draw pays 10/3 (William Hill).
Recent head to head: Hammers out to do the double
West Ham's 2-1 victory at Kenilworth Road earlier this season was the first meeting of these sides since 1994. Luton Town have never played at the London Stadium but their last three visits to Upton Park all ended in draws.
Players to watch: Bowen has Euros incentive
Most of the West Ham players don't have anything to play for but Jarrod Bowen will be out to catch the eye of Gareth Southgate ahead of Euro 2024. The striker has 20 goals for the season and is 29/20 at Unibet for anytime scorer.
Elijah Adebayo scored Luton's leveller against Everton last time out and that took him into double figures for the season. The lively forward is 21/10 at Bet365 to add to that tally.
Probable line-ups
Moyes doesn't have any fresh injury worries but will tempted to make changes after that battering by Chelsea. Luton should be along similar lines to the team that drew with Everton.
West Ham: Areola, Zouma, Coufal, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Paqueta, Kudus, Ward-Prowse, Bowen, Soucek, Antonio.
Luton Town: Kaminski, Osho, Mengi, Burke, Barkley, Sambi Lokonga, Onyedinma, Doughty, Morris, Adebayo, Chong.
Anything else catch the eye? Corner the market
Both these teams are strong from set-pieces so it could pay to back plenty of corners in this one. Bet365 price over 10.5 corners at evens while Luton +1 in the handicap also stands a chance at 13/10 (BoyleSports) as they need to go for the win.
Although Rob Edwards' side haven't been winning, they've still been scoring and have drawn just one blank in their last 20 games. That suggests goals at both ends in this one and over 3.5 strikes looks good at 11/10 with Bet365.
Luton will be fired up with survival at stake so I'm backing them at -1 in the card handicap, which pays 9/4 with Bet365.
This English Premier League match between West Ham United and Luton Town will be played on May 11, 2024 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best West Ham United vs Luton Town prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
