Watford FC will have mixed feelings over current Luton Town situation | OneFootball

Watford fans will have slight disappointment over a potential Luton Town relegation despite having the bragging rights.

Watford remain on the periphery of the play-off places heading into the final eight games of the regular Championship season.

Tom Cleverley’s men have been competing towards the top end of the second tier for the majority of the campaign, but inconsistent spells of form have meant they’ve slipped away from the top six and will require a resurgence to gatecrash it before May.

The Hornets have won just one of their last four league games heading into the final run-in, with the club five points behind sixth-placed West Brom for a chance of promotion back to the Premier League.

If Watford can generate a consistent run of form together by the end of the season, then they could look forward to being in the mix of getting back into the top-flight, but it’s all doom and gloom for their bitter rivals Luton Town.

The Hatters were expected to be competing for an immediate return to the Premier League themselves after keeping the core of their squad, but negative results have filtered through into the second tier, with the Bedfordshire-based club fighting for their Championship lives.

While Watford fans will be far from sympathetic over Luton’s situation, Hornets supporters must wish for the Hatters to remain in the Championship, with the absence of the fierce derby next season definitely affecting the enjoyment of next term.

Luton Town’s struggles in the Championship compared to Watford

The most startling development in this Football League season has undoubtedly been Luton Town's dramatic decline.

Just two years on from their fairy-tale promotion to the Premier League, the Hatters now face the unimaginable prospect of consecutive relegations down to third-tier, which many watchers of the EFL could never have predicted.

Luton were expected to be challenging towards the top end of the Championship after falling back down to the second tier, with retaining the likes of Carlton Morris, Elijah Adebayo and Alfie Doughty seen as a positive result last summer.

But now the Hatters are teetering on the edge of the dropzone and have eight games to save their season under Matt Bloomfield, following the departure of Rob Edwards.

Luton did earn a morale-boosting victory over Cardiff City and a goalless draw with Middlesbrough before the international break, and will be hoping these results can be the catalyst to transform their fortunes and maintain a crucial place in the Championship next season.

Watford fans must not have believed Luton’s fall from grace but would have been ecstatic to be the more successful club this term in competing for a Premier League place.

Watford fans will want Luton Town to survive to maintain derby matchdays

Despite Watford taking the bragging rights and having the last laugh this season with a 2-0 victory at Vicarage Road back in February, there will be a hope in the back of fans’ minds that Luton do go on to maintain their Championship status come May.

When fixtures are released in the Championship, the first instinctive thing to do as a fan is to look at when the fierce derby matchdays are, with those types of games generating the most atmosphere and passion both on and off the pitch.

These are the types of games both fans and players thrive off, and Watford will want a piece of this, particularly if they don’t gain promotion to the top-flight themselves.

There is normally less enjoyment in a season when you know clashes with bitter rivals aren’t taking place, and Watford supporters are sure to want to see Luton have some success between now and the end of the season – even if they won’t care to admit it.