Luton vs AFC Wimbledon prediction & best bets: Hatters can come out on top | OneFootball

It’s a tough start to life back in League One on Friday for AFC Wimbledon, who face the favourites for promotion, Luton Town, at Kenilworth Road (8pm, Sky Sports Football).

There were two divisions between these two sides last season, but after the Hatters suffered their second consecutive relegation and Wimbledon won the League Two play-offs, they kick off the new EFL season.

It’s only two years ago that Luton were preparing for life in the Premier League, but after winning just 19 of their last 84 league games, it’s been a torrid time for fans who have had little to celebrate.

If they are to live up to their favourites for the League One title tag, Matt Bloomfield will hope they can hit the ground running and show there is no hangover from their successive relegations.

They did win three of their last four matches of last season, as they desperately fought to avoid the drop, but a 5-3 defeat at West Brom on their final day saw them go down on goal difference from Hull City, who lived to fight another day in the Championship.

Wimbledon, on the other hand, are used to winning, having finished fifth in the League Two table and beating Notts County twice in the play-off semi-finals to set up a Wembley meeting with Walsall.

Myles Hippolyte scored the only goal of the game in the final to secure their return to the third flight after a three-year absence.

They won each of their play-off games 1-0, and goals were a problem as they managed just 59 from their 49 league and play-off games but they did keep 24 clean sheets, and success is built on defence.

They are the favourites in the League One odds for relegation, but manager Johnnie Jackson will be desperate to prove the doubters wrong.

The two sides have only met four times, but the last meeting was in this division during the 2018/19 season, when Luton won the league title with 94 points.

Wimbledon were at the opposite end of the table, but they secured the all-important 50 points and their safety by goal difference from Plymouth - I think both teams might be happy with that outcome in May, although I doubt Plymouth would though!

In their first meeting at Plough Lane, Pelly Mpanzu and Elliot Lee were both on target as the visitors won 2-0.

The return match at Kenilworth Road in April 2019 ended all square as Steve Seddon scored in added time for the visitors to secure a 2-2 draw.

Defender Seddon is one of six signings made by Wimbledon as he returns to the club for a third spell after two previous loans when he was at Birmingham City.

Football betting sites are backing Luton for the win at odds of 1/2, while you can get 11/2 on Wimbledon and 18/5 on a draw. I think the Hatters should have the edge to kickstart their season with a victory and a clean sheet in the process.

After five years at Bristol City, striker Nahki Wells swapped Ashton Gate for Kenilworth Road when his contract expired in the summer, and it could be a masterstroke from Matt Bloomfield.

The Bermudian cost City £5m when they signed him from Burnley in 2020, and he scored 46 goals in 131 league starts in the Championship.

He has a habit of scoring important goals, and opening the entire EFL season would be a good way to start on Friday.

Betting sites are offering 4/1 on him scoring first or last, and you can get 9/5 on him scoring at any time.

Using our Luton vs AFC Wimbledon best bets, we’ve come up with a bet builder for the game that returns at over 4/1 with Virgin Bet.

Leg 1 - Luton to win

A lot of this Luton squad were gearing up for a Premier League campaign two years ago and that level of quality should see them overwhelem newly-promoted Wimbledon, who have lost some key players this summer.

Leg 2 - Under 3.5 goals

AFC Wimbledon look solid defensively but may struggle to hurt a team of Luton’s quality. Expect the Dons to try and stay in the game as long as possible away to one of the favourites for promotion.

Leg 3 - Nakhi Wells anytime goalscorer

Wells is a proven goalscorer at Championship level and should pose a major threat to third tier defences, particularly those still finding their feet in League 1, such as Wimbledon.

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