Luton Town Football Club

League sponsors Sky Bet don’t think the Town stand much of a chance of victory at Southend on Saturday – pricing the Hatters at their biggest odds this season at 7/2.

You may well have been told – maybe a long, long time ago – that the bookies always win and that they’re always right. They probably are. BUT NOT ALL THE TIME.

But you can see their reasoning. John Still’s side take on a Shrimpers outfit who have won their last six matches – and have done so without conceding a single goal. Southend goalkeeper Daniel Bentley hasn’t conceded a goal on home turf for something like 10,000 years. It’s a figure so ridiculously unfathomable that we daren’t type it into the calculator. Plus we were never taught our 90-times-table at school.

Nevertheless – the case for the Town’s defence. Do the bookies know that the Hatters will be backed by almost 2,500 of their own supporters? Have they not discussed the old adage that good things always come to an end? Do they not know that Elliot Justham is the Hatters’ diamond season ticket holders’ player of the month for March. Probably not. Spirits are high. Three clean sheets in the last four games tells its own story. The Town are improving.

Southend boss Phil Brown is treating the game like a cup final – although we’re sure we’d take many more fans if it actually was. However, there’s no getting away of the importance of the match to both teams who are chasing the points for different reasons.

There are a few players on show who have some previous with the Essex side, too. Ryan Hall spent three years at Roots Hall – significantly more time than Elliot Lee did. The on-loan West Ham star’s hamstring went PING inside the first hour of training with the Shrimpers earlier this season, meaning he never got to sport the Shrimpers’ blue.

Lee’s partnership with Mark Cullen in the Hatters’ 3-0 win over Hartlepool last weekend looked particularly menacing, though, didn’t it? The Town could have been 6-0 up at half-time but we bet the bookies weren’t watching.

Cullen was given his first professional contract at Hull by none other than Phil Brown. Do the bookies know that? 

When the Town’s leading marksman scores this season the Town have won seven, drawn two and lost just once so get your pennies on Cullen to down the man who gave his career the go-ahead. It’ll be a tight game too, so do yourself a favour and get on the 1-0 scorecast at 50/1. Come on you Hatters!