Luton host West Brom in a crucial Championship contest on a packed Friday night of football and we have a trio of selections which make up our best bets of the day.
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Bet of the day
West Brom to beat Luton @ 17/10
West Brom have failed to win any of their last six Championship matches, but that is a rather harsh reflection of their performances and the Baggies can snap that run by beating Luton at Kenilworth Road on Friday night.
Carlos Corberan’s men have drawn their last four matches against Cardiff, Blackburn, Oxford and Millwall, but West Brom have won the shot count in all of those games.
The Baggies hit 19 efforts on goal, which created an expected goals figure of 1.66 against Cardiff last time out and that 0-0 draw really should have gone their way.
Luton have slipped into the Championship relegation zone after winning only one of their last six matches and the Hatters threw away a two-goal lead when losing 3-2 at Coventry last weekend.
Rob Edwards’ men have conceded 12 goals in their last six games and that should be music to the ears of West Brom’s goal-shy attack.
Luton’s defensive issues have to be a major concern and they are heightened further by key absentees on Friday night.
Centre-back Reece Burke is out through injury, while Tom Holmes, who had done a good job of filling in for the former Bolton defender, is now suspended. That defensive duo are joined on the sidelines by wing-back Alfie Doughty and that leaves Luton light at the back.
West Brom have scored only one goal in their last five second-tier games, but they look to have been handed a golden opportunity to improve that poor record and take a much-needed three points back to the Hawthorns.
Special of the day
Raith to beat Ayr @ 2/1
Scott Brown has done a fantastic job turning Ayr into Scottish Championship title contenders, but the good work of the former Celtic midfielder could be derailed by injuries.
The Honest Men are dealing with a whole host of absentees for their trip to Raith on Friday night with prolific forward Anton Dowds top of that list. On-loan Fulham defender Connor McAvoy is sidelined and Mikey Devlin is also ruled out.
That trio all missed Saturday’s 1-0 victory at Airdrie, and while it didn’t stop Ayr from picking up three points, Brown’s men needed a stunning Dylan Watret effort to break the deadlock.
The Honest Men struggled to create a chance against an Airdrie side who have lost six of their last seven Scottish Championship matches, and prior to that narrow victory, Ayr were turned over by Livingston at Somerset Park.
Raith have to deal with a quick turnaround from Tuesday night’s 1-0 win over Airdrie, but Rovers have lost only one game at Stark’s Park all season and Neill Collins’ men look overpriced to see off the challenge of Ayr.
Long shot of the day
Over 3.5 goals in Leverkusen v Stuttgart @ 10/11
There have been 27 goals in Leverkusen’s seven BayArena matches this season, while Stuttgart have seen the net hit 30 times in their eight road trips.
That goalscoring spree includes a 2-2 draw at Leverkusen when the two sides met in the German Super Cup at the start of the campaign, and another high-scoring clash in on the cards on Friday.
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