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Luton Town will host Birmingham City at Kenilworth Road on Saturday in the opening weekend of the 2022-23 English Championship campaign.
The Hatters enjoyed a memorable campaign last season, making it all the way to the promotion playoffs. Their sixth-place league finish saw them face Huddersfield Town in the first round of the playoffs, where they lost 2-1 on aggregate.
Luton Town have managed to keep most of the core of the squad together and have enjoyed a solid pre-season run as a result. They will be looking to take that confidence into the new season and kick off on a positive note.
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Birmingham City, on the other hand, struggled to impress in the league last season, picking up just 47 points from 46 games, their second-lowest points tally in almost a decade. They finished 20th in the league standings, marking a sixth straight bottom-half league finish.
The Blues endured a highly underwhelming pre-season campaign amidst talks of a club takeover but will be looking to put all that behind them when they travel to Luton this weekend.
Luton Town vs Birmingham City Head-to-Head
There have been 65 meetings between Luton Town and Birmingham City. The hosts have won just 13 of those games while the visitors have won 32 times. There have been 20 draws between the two teams.
The two sides last faced off in a league clash last season, with the visitors winning 3-0.
Luton Town Form Guide (All Competitions): D-W-W-W-W
Birmingham City Form Guide (All Competitions): D-L-L-W-D
Luton Town vs Birmingham City Team News
Luton Town
The hosts will be without the services of Fred Onyedinma and James Shea as the duo are injured. Meanwhile, Luke Freeman and Louie Watson have hamstring problems and could also miss out.
Injured: Fred Onyedinma, James Shea
Doubtful: Luke Freeman, Louie Watson
Suspended: None
Birmingham City
Gary Gardner and Harlee Dean are both injured and will not play on Saturday. Dion Sanderson, Lukas Jutkiewicz and George Friend are all doubts for this one.
Injured: Gary Gardner, Harlee Dean
Doubtful: Dion Sanderson, Lukas Jutkiewicz, George Friend
Suspended: None
Luton Town vs Birmingham City Predicted XI
Luton Town Predicted XI (5-3-2): Ethan Horvath; James Bree, Reece Burke, Gabriel Osho, Sonny Bradley, Alfie Doughty; Allan Campbell, Luke Berry, Jordan Clark; Elijah Adebayo, Harry Cornick
Birmingham City Predicted XI (3-5-2): John Ruddy; Tate Campbell, Marc Roberts, Austin Trusty; Maxime Colin, Ryan Woods, Juninho Bacuna, Jordan James, Przemyslaw Placheta; Scott Hogan, Troy Deeney
$1,100 First Bet Insurance at Caesars
Luton Town vs Birmingham City Prediction
Luton Town built on their impressive showings last campaign in the off-season, picking up four wins and a draw in their five friendlies. They are in tiptop form ahead of their weekend opener.
Birmingham City, on the other hand, are winless in their last three games and could suffer defeat this weekend.
Prediction: Luton Town 2-1 Birmingham City
