Luton Town begin life in the topflight with a tough test against last season's highflyers, Brighton &Hove Albion at the Amex stadium on Saturday. Both sides were overachievers last season, but Brighton look the better team and should have the upper hand in their season opener.
Brighton nailed down a place in the Europa League last season and beat traditional members of the top six en route finishing sixth, their highest finish in the top-flight. Their impact in the title race was also telling as their 3-0 victory over Arsenal at the Emirates in May gave Manchester City the advantage.
Even more brilliant was the brand of football on display at the Amex as Roberto De Zerbi built on the foundations of the team’s ability to play seamlessly from the back to help the team become more productive and ruthless in chance creation and conversion.
Such is the authenticity and potency of their playing style that the loss of key players such as Chelsea loanee Levi Colwill, Alexis Macallister, Robert Sanchez and potentially Moises Caicedo have not appeared to change the dynamics during pre-season. They managed only one win from four games in preseason and would aim for a bright start, especially with their poor showing in the final games of the season in which they managed two wins from six games.
Luton's rise to the topflight is quite impressive considering they were attempting to escape the National League just a decade ago. They will now field a team in the Premier League for the first time in 31 years after securing promotion from the Championship through the playoffs in the final weeks of last season.
Rob Edward’s men will have to wait for a first Premier League home game with Kenilworth Road undergoing reconstruction. However, they will be looking to build on a decent preseason which saw them suffer just one defeat in six matches.
Luton Town have also recently added former Everton and Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley to their ranks, amongst eight other players in a bid to stay in the topflight. They are a difficult side to play against on paper as they have lost just once in their last ten games.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have Brighton as overwhelming favourites with a home win prized at 1/3 by bet365. A shock victory for Luton is valued at 19/2 by BETVICTOR while Ladbrokes is offering odds of 21/5 for a draw.
Head to Head
The last time Brighton and Luton clashed in their first game of a league season was all the way back in the 1928-29 season and Luton won the game 1-0. Overall, Luton lead the head-to-head with 24 wins to 23, with 16 games drawn.
Players to watch
Evan Ferguson had his breakout season last term and is expected to kick on this year. The highly rated youngster will be keen to hit the ground running and could be backed at 6/5 with bet365 to find the net on Saturday.
With Brighton generally unconvincing at the back, Luton Town will be confident of getting on the score sheet. Summer signing Simon Adingra could be the man tasked with providing the attacking threat and is priced at 16/5 by Unibet to find the net.
Anything else catch the eye?
Brighton and Luton Town have shown some defensive vulnerability which means both teams can be backed to score at 19/20 with bet365. Luton saw over 3.5 goals in their final preseason fixture and a similar outcome is priced at 6/4 with William Hill while BoyleSport is offering odds of 4/7 for over 2.5 goals.
With Brighton priced at minimal odds for a straight victory, a win and both teams to score can be considered at 15/8 with Paddy Power.
This English Premier League match between Brighton &Hove Albion and Luton Town will be played on Aug 12, 2023 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Brighton &Hove Albion vs Luton Town prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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