Brighton v Luton | Match Preview, Odds and Prediction
The Premier League has returned and Brighton & Hove Albion kick off the new campaign at home to newly-promoted Luton Town on Saturday afternoon. The Seagulls are favourites to pick up all three points over the Hatters at the Amex Stadium as they’re coming off the back of a successful season and have strengthened well in the transfer market.
Luton won promotion to the Premier League via the Championship playoffs and have spent modestly with talent mostly from the Football League, so it’s unlikely they will pull up trees this season. The Hatters are underdogs against Brighton but would love to achieve an upset as every bookmaker has them losing at the Amex.
Brighton finished 6th in the league last season, sealing Europa League football after a brilliant campaign under Roberto Di Zerbi. Despite media speculation over the summer, the Seagulls managed to keep their manager and have added to the squad (James Milner, Mahmoud Dahoud, Bart Verbruggen) to make up for Alexis Mac Allister and Robert Sánchez’s exit.
João Pedro and Igor were signed to bolster the attack and defence respectively too, so they’ll more than fancy their chances of getting the new campaign off to a winning start. Brighton are 1/3 with Bet 365 To Win against Luton. Albion scored 72 goals from 38 league games last season, so they averaged nearly two goals per match. The Seagulls are 2/5 with William Hill To Score Over 1.5 Goals.
Luton are no slouches, however. Only Burnley lost fewer games and conceded fewer goals than the Hatters, so they shouldn’t be easy to break down. Town had the best defensive record away from home in the Championship last season too, so they’re 10/1 with Bet Victor To Win against Brighton.
Luton averaged only 1.2 goals per game in 2022/23 and conceded 0.85 goals per game, so they’re used to low-scoring affairs. Total Goals Under 2.5 is 6/4 with SkyBet. Rob Edwards’ side were draw specialists last season, playing out stalemates in 37% of their matches, so Brighton and Luton are 5/1 with LiveScore Bet To Draw.
If there are goals at the Amex Stadium, who could be scoring them?
No player had a hand in more league goals for Brighton than Pascal Groß (37 apps, nine goals, eight assists) last season, so he’s 10/1 with Boyle Sports to be First Goalscorer and 3/1 with Bet 365 to Score Anytime. Solly March, who contributed 14 goals, is 9/1 with SpreadEx to be First Goalscorer and 14/5 with SpreadEx to Score Anytime. Kaoru Mitoma, who contributed 13 goals, is 13/2 with SpreadEx to be First Goalscorer and 19/10 with 21/10 with Betfair to Score Anytime.
For Luton, they’ll be relying on Carlton Morris who scored 20 goals with six assists from 44 league games last season. The 27-year-old is 12/1 with Boyle Sports to be First Goalscorer and 4/1 with Betfair to Score Anytime. Luton shouldn’t get hammered in their opening Premier League game, but they’re facing a Brighton side that has finished in the top nine for two consecutive campaigns.
Prediction: Brighton 2-0 Luton
