Luton boss Rob Edwards can guide the club straight back to the Premier League (Picture: PA)
There will be more than tea consumed at parties around Kenilworth Road when Luton Town are promoted back to the Premier League as the best team in the Championship.
All three newly promoted clubs were relegated last season and the Hatters began the campaign as the favourites for both the drop and to finish bottom.
Instead, they ended up as the best of the new boys, finishing 18th, and for a while it appeared they would be able to take advantage of the points deductions suffered by Nottingham Forest and Everton.
In the end they were six points adrift of Forest in 17th but overall gave a good account of themselves and won support from the neutrals for their fearless approach against the big guns in the top flight.
Once they found their feet, Rob Edwards’ side gained in confidence and drew at home against Liverpool before losing by one goal to Manchester United, Tottenham (twice), Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Manchester City.
They also took four points off Newcastle, who many expect to enjoy a big year this season, and the valuable experience against the best will put them in good stead this time around.
Andros Townsend provides experience for the Hatters (Picture: CameraSport via Getty Images)
The Hatters have kept the bulk of the better players in their squad and while they could do with a couple of signings to strengthen the ranks before the transfer window expires, the same can be said for their main rivals in the Championship.
Leeds are the market leaders at 7/2 but have lost key players in Crysencio Summerville to West Ham and Archie Gray to Tottenham, while Burnley and Sheffield United just don’t look as strong on paper as our selection.
Neither do any of the sides who were in English football’s second tier last term and it would be a whopping surprise if Portsmouth, Derby or Oxford followed in Ipswich Town’s boots and celebrated successive promotions from League One to the Premier League.
What’s more, the Hatters are a cracking price at 12/1 with bet365, prime each-way material in case some of the injuries which have been picked up in pre-season linger longer than expected.
Middlesbrough were our tip last term but soon floundered when important players were sold and others headed to the treatment room.
However, under Michael Carrick’s management they rallied from the lower-table doldrums to finish strongly in eighth, just four points out of the play-offs, and are 7/2 with bet365 to gain promotion this season.
• Emmanuel Latte Lath scored 16 goals in 30 appearances for Middlesbrough last term with 11 of them in the last 12 matches and is 11/1 with Sky Bet to be the division’s top goalscorer this season.
• Oxford United are 11/8 favourites with Sky Bet to be relegated which seems worth a flutter, but Cardiff appeal even more at 9/2 with Bet Victor.
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