Luton Town vs Middlesbrough verdict, predicted score, key stats and suggested bets

Luton Town and Middlesbrough meet on Monday night looking to maintain their current form for the Championship play-offs.

Championship, Monday, April 24, Kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports Main Event.

Over 2.5 goals

Both teams to score

Luton are unbeaten in 11 Championship games. Looking back further, only Burnley have beaten them in their last 17 outings.

There have been under 2.5 goals in eight of Luton's last nine games, whilst there have been at least three goals in each of Middlesbrough's last six games.

Sixteen of the 23 sides to visit Kenilworth Road have scored this season, while both teams have scored in 12 of Boro's last 15 trips away from The Riverside.

Both teams have secured their place in the play-offs and can finish no lower than fourth, with automatic promotion still a mathematic possibility.

Gabriel Osho (knee), Reece Burke (groin), Dan Potts (hamstring) and Jack Walton muscle) are unavailable for Luton Town.

Rob Edwards has no fresh concerns after their 1-1 draw with Reading. Elijah Adebayo was only fit enough for the bench but could push for a start here.

Dael Fry (knock), Matt Clarke (back), Riley McGree (ankle) and Aaron Ramsey (ankle) are unavailable for the trip to Luton.

Michael Carrick will also be sweating on Tommy Smith (ribs) and Marcus Forss (ankle) after they picked up knocks against Hull midweek.

Luton Town's draw against 10-man Reading was a disappointing result on paper and probably puts an end to their chances of catching Sheffield United.Andy Carroll gave the Royals the lead in the 51st minute before seeing red for a second yellow card just four minutes later. Carlton Morris levelled late on with his 19th goal of the season.

Middlesbrough were far from vintage in the opening 45 minutes against Hull, but three goals in the space of six minutes silenced the Tigers and kept them hot on Town's tail.

Hayden Hackney drew Boro level with a rare goal, before the usual suspects Cameron Archer and Chuba Akpom took the game away from Hull. The prolific pair have 37 goals between them.Town's current run of form has seen them go unbeaten in 11 matches despite facing four tough tests against teams currently occupying a play-off spot.

When looking to identify a good bet for this game, it's worth noting that Luton have only failed to score once in their unbeaten run, and just once in their last 10 matches at home. Those shutouts came against a notoriously resilient Millwall side and champions Burnley.

Winning and keeping a clean sheet often go hand in hand for Edwards' side. They've kept their opponents out in nine of their last 10 wins, with a 3-1 win over Blackpool being the only exception.

It'll take an extra special effort to keep Carrick's side from finding the net. The Championship's top scorers have scored 82 goals this term with the league's top scorer Akpom contributing 28 of them.

Despite their lofty league position, Middlesbrough have found keeping a clean sheet on their travels impossible. Their 3-0 victory over Blackpool is the only time this season they've kept a clean sheet on the road.

The league's top scorers have had no issue finding the net themselves, though they've rarely had a firm grip on games. There have been four or more goals in five of their last six games, a run which has included 3-1 victories, a 2-2 draw and a 4-2 loss.

It's possible that this game could be a preview of the Championship play-off final, but with no real pressure on either of these sides, there's every chance we see an end-to-end game on Monday night.

Luton will struggle to keep Middlesbrough from scoring and when the Hatters concede at home, the game generally ends up being high scoring. Betting on both teams to find the net at least once seems sensible.