football | Utorak, Maj 16, 2023 8:51 AM (Revised at: Utorak, Maj 16, 2023 1:52 PM)

Luton vs Sunderland Bet Builder Tips: 2.25 Builder for Tonight’s Championship Playoff

Jack Wright

Luton vs Sunderland Bet Builder Tips: Tuesday, May 16th

The EFL playoff second legs are upon us and we’ve got Luton vs Sunderland bet builder tips ready for this one on Tuesday, May 16th.

The Hatters comfortably finished 3rd in the final Championship table some 11 points clear of their opponents here.

With the Black Cats only sneaking into the final playoff spot on goal difference courtesy of a final day 3-0 win at Preston.

But that counts for nothing now with the home side needing to overturn a one-goal deficit to keep their Wembley and ultimately Premier League dream alive.

In this article:

Luton vs Sunderland Preview
Luton vs Sunderland Stats & Facts
Luton vs Sunderland Bet Builder

Luton vs Sunderland Preview

Championship Playoff Semi-Final, Tuesday, May 16th, 20:00 (UK)

It all started so well for Luton at a cacophonous Stadium of Light on Saturday. Having played such an influential role all season Elijah Adebayo could hardly feature in his side’s playoff campaign last term. But he silenced the majority of the 46,000 crowd after just 11 minutes of this year’s edition. Firing home an uncleared corner following a spot of pinball in the home box.

However, the Hatters relinquished both their advantage in this tie and a 14-match unbeaten run as the hosts roared back.

Just five minutes before the break Amad Diallo added another stunning strike to his collection in netting the crucial equaliser. Sumptuously curling a superb free kick into the top corner after Alex Pritchard had rolled the ball into his path.

With an hour on the clock, the comeback was complete. Trai Hume doubled his tally for the season by heading in an inviting Jack Clarke cross.

That strike ended a sequence of four successive 1-1 draws between these two clubs.

Rob Edwards conceded that it was advantage Sunderland who had carried their momentum on from the end of the regular season. But was equally keen to stress it was only half time in the tie and his side were looking forward to the return leg on home soil.

Luton vs Sunderland Stats & Facts

The half-time result has been replicated at the full-time whistle in eight of Luton’s last 11 matches.
Anthony Patterson has been an ever-present in goal for Sunderland this season – featuring in every minute of their Championship campaign.
Luton’s goalkeeper Ethan Horvath kept the second most clean sheets (19) in the Sky Bet Championship this season.
Jack Clarke’s assist in the first leg was his 12th of the season. The most of any player in the English second tier.

Luton vs Sunderland Bet Builder

Luton will be looking to exploit their home advantage to turn this tie around. In contrast to the vast venue that hosted the first leg, Kenilworth Road has a capacity of just over 10,000. The tight confines of the ground often prove a tough venue for visitors to perform at their best. Since Rob Edwards’ arrival in Bedfordshire, only two of the 12 visitors in the league have left with all three points. Champions Burnley scored the only goal of the game in February via a 78th-minute penalty. The month before, West Brom snatched a remarkable victory in a five-goal thriller having been two goals down. The Hatters won eight of the other 10 games with a draw against Hull on the last day of the season coming after a playoff place was secured. In the process ending a run prior to that of five successive wins on home soil.

Sunderland failed to beat any of the top eight in the regular season away from home with three draws and four defeats. Of course, something they don’t even need to do here to progress to the final. The Black Cats would certainly sign for a draw here which makes the double chance a very appealing option to lay the foundations for this builder.

Luton also won the expected goals battle on Saturday with Amad Diallo’s strike rated at just 0.03 xG. It’s not every match you can expect to see such a strike. That’s not to say the on-loan Manchester United man isn’t confident enough to at least try it. Rather excitedly dubbed in some quarters as “one of the greatest loans ever” and that was before his goal on Saturday!

There is no arguing though that the temporary switch from Old Trafford has been a massive success. The 20-year-old Ivory Coast international now has 14 goals to his name since arriving at the Stadium of Light.

Those goals have come from 71 attempts of which 30 have been on target including at least one in each of his last eight appearances. This is just the type of game the self-assured forward would be keen to make the headlines in.