Neil Critchley's QPR welcome Luton in Thursday's early kick-off, and Tom Carnduff has found a best bet in the stats markets.
Football betting tips: Sky Bet Championship
1.5pts Jordan Clark to have 2+ total shots at Evens (Sky Bet)
Neil Critchley's start to life at QPR has been a positive one, with the Boxing Day draw away at Cardiff making it four points gained from a possible six.
Back-to-back unbeaten games will be very welcome considering their pre-World Cup form. Three consecutive losses saw them drop down the promotion picture, with a 3-0 home loss to Burnley far from helpful in Paul Hall's only game as interim boss.
Luton's win over Norwich came despite having ten men on the pitch at the time Cauley Woodrow struck in the 89th minute - a result that keeps them just two points off the top-six despite sitting 12th in the Sky Bet Championship table.
Kick-off time: 18:00 GMT, Thursday
TV Channel: Sky Sports Main Event
QPR 5/4 | Draw 23/10 | Luton 11/5
England's second tier is once again highlighting why it is one of the most remarkable divisions in the game by the fact that - at the time of writing - Reading are just three points away from the play-off positions. They are 16th after 23 games.
Stoke, in 17th, are the same number of points away from 6th as they are 22nd. Victory in a game such as this is always important, but the current structure of the league table more than highlights that there will be plenty of other opportunities to move up the ladder.
For Critchley, that means that QPR have every chance of being in that top-six in May despite the poor form he inherited when he took the job. The 5/4 price on success here is an interesting one, but I'd hold off on them for just a bit longer to see if this current points return is sustainable.
Instead, the best bet can be found by delving into the stats markets and taking the even money price available on JORDAN CLARK TO HAVE 2+ TOTAL SHOTS.
He's been a key figure in the Luton midfield this season, missing all-but-one of their 23 league games so far. Clark has also played the full 90 minutes in 20 of those outings.
We can hold some confidence when backing Clark in the majority of the stats markets available, with his tackles, fouls and shots averages all sitting above 1.0 for the season.
Only forwards Carlton Morris and Elijah Adebayo have averaged a higher number of shots per league game in this Luton squad, with Clark going at 1.7 across those 22 contests.
One eye-catching element of this figure is that it isn't distorted by the fact that one game had an unusually high amount, he's taken at least one shot in 19 of the 22 games.
A total of 45% have seen at least two, and QPR conceding 21 shots in their two games under Critchley should see Luton have chances to find the net.
This is, after all, a side who sit in the top-ten for average shots taken in the Championship this season (12.4), and we can expect them to hit double figures despite being the away side here.
There will be interest in seeing how QPR go in this game for longer term betting angles, but backing CLARK to have a couple of efforts towards goal provides more appeal on Thursday night.
QPR v Luton best bets and score prediction
- 1.5pts Jordan Clark to have 2+ total shots at Evens (Sky Bet)
Score prediction: QPR 1-1 Luton (Sky Bet odds: 5/1)
Odds correct at 1135 GMT (27/12/22)
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