Luton v Manchester United: Doughty can help land 9/1 Bet Builder

• Alfie Doughty has been racking up the assists

• Doughty and Rasmus Hojlund can land a BB at 9/110.00

• Read Betfair's new 90 Minute Payout offer here

Luton v Manchester United
Sunday February 18, 16:30
Live on Sky Sports Premier League

Luton still in thick of relegation battle

Dismissed as virtual certainties to go down, Luton went into last weekend's home game with bottom club Sheffield United on a six-match unbeaten run in all competitions.

Victory over the Blades would have put them within two points of 14th-placed Brentford but they fluffled their lines, losing 3-1.

Were it not for Everton's 10-point deduction, they'd still be in the bottom three so there is much work still to be done despite the excellent job Rob Edwards and his team have done this season.

That was actually a league-high seventh home loss of the campaign so despite the noisy atmosphere at Kenilworth Road, the locals have watched an awful lot of defeats this season. Perhaps that has gone a little under-reported.

United's fortunes looking brighter

United also faced a key moment last week but, unlike Luton, they passed the test.

Defeat at Aston Villa would have left Erik ten Hag's men eight points behind the fifth-placed Villans but, instead, they dug out a 2-1 victory to close that margin to five. With the Premier League likely to get five Champions League spots next season, that result could be huge.

United have now won three Premier League games on the spin, the good news on the field matching that off it with Sir Jim Ratcliffe starting to bring a sense of optimism after his purchase of a 25 per cent share in the club.

Are the two linked? Maybe. Either way, the feeling that a better future is on the horizon can only be good although many punters will still struggle to put much faith in this United side.

Look to goals when Luton host big guns

That trust in a Red Devils revival is certainly being tested as Man Utd are just 1.855/6 for the win. Are their backers willing to take such a price? Luton are 4.216/5, fractionally shorter than the Draw at 4.3100/30.

There's certainly an argument that Luton rather struggled with the role of being favourites when hosting Sheffield United last weekend. That applies not just to a mental state but also having more possession rather than hitting on the break.

So it's worth looking at how the Hatters have performed when taking on the Premier League's glamour clubs at home.

Luton 0-1 Tottenham
Luton 1-1 Liverpool
Luton 3-4 Arsenal
Luton 1-2 Manchester City
Luton 2-3 Chelsea

The answer is very competitive but just one point from 15 is the bottom line if you're Rob Edwards.

What can be gleaned is that goals are definitely worth a look here and Over 3.5 at 11/82.38 and Over 4.5 at 16/54.20 are justified given those big scorelines involving Arsenal and Chelsea.

Luton have scored as many home goals at Manchester United (18) but only the bottom two and Brentford have conceded more on their own patch than the Hatters.

As for United, their recent matches are witnessing far more goals than earlier in the season. The last five have seen make-ups of 4, 6, 7, 3 and 3. There's one obvious reason why and we'll come to that shortly.

Doughty worth a punt on Bet Builder

Another way to try and cash in on there being plenty of goals is creating a Bet Builder and let's start with the hosts.

Luton left-back Alfie Doughty takes up some very advanced positions and he's been the Hatters' assist king this season with five.

That tally includes three from those aforementioned home games: two against Arsenal and another at Chelsea.

An anytime assist has to be worth a look at 16/54.20 given that he's racked up all five in his last nine Premier League games.

For Manchester United, Rasmus Hojlund has really found his scoring boots after a tough start, netting in six of his last seven matches including each of the last five.

The young Dane is 6/42.50 anytime which is just fine but, with goals expected, I'll combine it with a Doughty assist to get a 9/1 Bet Builder.

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