Luton v Middlesbrough: Back both to oblige at The Kenny

• Luton have scored in 17/21 home games

• Middlesbrough have managed just 1 away clean sheet

• BTTS has banked in 71% of Boro's away days

Luton secure top-six berth

Luton boss Rob Edwards felt his side should celebrate their achievement of reaching the play-offs with three games of the season to go by drawing 1-1 at Reading on Wednesday night. The Hatters had gone into the game needing just a point to assure themselves of a top-six berth yet still required a late bundled effort from Carlton Morris to equalise.

Speaking post-match, Edwards said: "We've guaranteed a play-off spot with three games to go, of course we wanted to win the game, but we've got to celebrate that - it's a great night for the football club. I thought we were very good though; really dominant, loads of control, we created some really big chances, unfortunately we couldn't get one before half time."

Town made just one change for the contest in Berkshire as Alfie Doughty replaced the injured Reece Burke, meaning Amari'i Bell reverted to defence, Tom Lockyer moving over to the right of the back three, while Jordan Clark and Elijah Adebayo were among the substitutes. The latter will be looking for a recall after an eye-catching midweek cameo.

Middlesbrough remain on track

A three-goal blitz in six minutes saw Middlesbrough fight back from a goal down to keep their very slim Championship automatic promotion hopes alive with victory over Hull on Wednesday evening. The Tigers took a deserved lead before the break but Hayden Hackney levelled for the hosts before Cameron Archer and Chuba Akpom followed minutes later.

Boro were somewhat sluggish as the first-half panned out, despite a bright start to the game. Head coach Michael Carrick was forced into two changes at the break - Anfernee Dijksteel and Isaiah Jones replacing the injured Tommy Smith and Marcus Forss to give the Teessiders' right-hand side a fresh dynamic and introduction of the duo turned the game.

Speaking post-match, Carrick said: "It wasn't a terrific first-half by any stretch. We spoke about going for it and being brave at half time and we were at a different level in the second half. It's good to have goals in the team and I think (scoring in quick succession) shows the belief and momentum we have. We had chances to score more and that's encouraging."

Boro vulnerable on the road?

Luton have posted W2-D2-L3 in head-to-head meetings with Middlesbrough since the Hatters returned to the second-tier in 2019/20. Nevertheless, Town have remained unbeaten at Kenilworth Road against Boro since 1974 (W3-D3-L0), scoring at least three goals when welcoming the Teessiders in three of their last four league fixtures here.

No second-tier side has earned more points than Luton 2.447/5 since Christmas (W13-D6-L2) with the Hatters' only reverse in 17 arriving against runaway league leaders Burnley (W10-D6-L1). Luton have won their last four home Championship matches, although meetings with top-10 opposition have tended to be tight affairs with a large draw bias (W4-D9-L3).

Middlesbrough 3.211/5 snapped their lean spell of just one victory in five by delivering back-to-back league wins over Norwich and Hull at The Riverside to enhance Michael Carrick's rock-solid home record. However, Boro haven't been quite so strong on the road; the Teessiders have W5-D1-L4 on their travels since the World Cup break, conceding in all 10.

Goals galore at The Kenny

Both Luton and Middlesbrough will be keen to close the gap on Sheffield United this weekend, although automatic promotion still looks a tall order at this stage. With the two high-flyers cemented inside the top-six, the duo may be able to play with a bit more freedom on Monday night, leading us towards a more goal-heavy, entertaining encounter.

Matches involving Middlesbrough do tend to be high-scoring, particularly on the road. Boro have scored 37 away Championship goals this season - their most in a campaign since 1963 - yet the visitors have also recorded just one clean sheet in 21 away days. Unsurprisingly, that's led to a glut of Both Teams To Score 1.845/6 winners with 71% of road trips paying-out.

Luton have only fired four blanks in 21 Kenilworth Road clashes this term as only Burnley have stopped the Hatters from scoring on home soil since October.