After a 2-1 victory in the first leg of the Championship Playoff semi-final, Sunderland will travel down south to Kenilworth Road to face Luton Town in the reverse fixture. Everything is on the line for both teams, Luton are looking to return to the top flight or the first time in 31 years and the Black Cats are looking for a return for the first time since 2017.
Sunderland impressed in their last bout at home, and will be looking to secure victory in a fixture that in recent years, has been incredibly close. In fact, Sunderland recorded the only victory in the past five meetings between the sides, all four of the previous meetings they have cancelled each other out and shared the spoils, although the last time Sunderland won away at Luton was way back in 2007. Championship playoff games often produce magical ties so expect some fireworks before the final whistle is blown. Neither side have been too shy of goals this season, but Sunderland definitely have the edge in firepower, scoring 11 more goals this term than Luton, whereas The Hatters can boast the second-best defensive record in the Championship with only 39 goals conceded, letting in a whopping 16 less than their opponents. This game could be a repeat of the reverse fixture and be attack versus defence.
Luton Town have a mostly clean bill of health heading into the second leg, they will not be able to call on midfield stalwart Alfie Doughty however and he will be missed. Sunderland however, have quite the butcher bill. Experienced defensive leader Danny Batth will miss out with a knee injury and there are further omissions from the back line; Daniel Ballard, and Aji Alesi are out of contention. Jewison Bennette, Corry Evans and Elliot Embleton from the midfield are unavailable for selection and the prolific Scottish hitman Ross Stewart won’t be back in time. Expect a much-changed, experimental squad from Tony Mowbray.
As they have done for the majority of the season, Luton Town will call on the creativity of Carlton Morris, with 20 goals and 7 assists this season, he is head and shoulders above his colleagues on both. He has found his home as the leading man after bouncing around the leagues in a series of loans from Norwich and has now become Luton’s brightest light this season, he will need to be at his goalscoring best to turn the deficit around.
Sunderland will look to the creativity of Jack Clark to help maintain or even extend their league in the semi-final, he has amassed 12 assists and 9 goals from the wide positions so far and will need to be at his best to guide Sunderland through to the final. He has also picked up 9 yellow cards alongside his 6 player of the match awards and is competitive as he is creative.
Expert Insight: Luton simply must go for gold, the lucrative incentive of the Premier League is too alluring not to leave everything on the pitch. Sunderland have the advantage and will know that Luton will come at them, this could leave larger pockets of space for their wide players such as the aforementioned Clarke and Manchester United loanee Amad Diallo to work their magic.
Championship