Luton v Aston Villa predictions: Villans can edge high-scoring encounter

Not got a Paddy Power account? New customers can click here to get £30 in free bets when they place a £10 bet with Paddy Power.

Where to watch Luton v Aston Villa

You can watch Luton v Aston Villa in the Premier League at 5.30pm on Saturday March 2, live on Sky Sports Premier League & Main Event

Match prediction & best bets

Aston Villa to win 3-1
1pt 12-1 bet365, Hills

Aston Villa to win 3-2
1pt 20-1 bet365, Hills

New customers can get a £30 free bet when they bet on Luton v Aston Villa with Paddy Power

Luton v Aston Villa team news

Luton
Forwards Elijah Adebayo and Jacob Brown are likely to miss out along with Albert Sambi Lokonga, Dan Potts, Amari'i Bell, Marvelous Nakamba, Mads Andersen and Tom Lockyer. Issa Kabore is available after being ineligible for the cup tie against his parent club Manchester City.

Aston Villa
Villa defenders Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa face fitness tests. Jhon Duran is back in training but Diego Carlos, Boubacar Kamara, Emiliano Buendia and Tyrone Mings are injured.

Luton v Aston Villa predictions

Luton's defenders had a tough February, conceding 19 goals in five matches in all competitions, and their March schedule begins with a testing home fixture against Aston Villa.

The ante-post Premier League relegation betting suggested the Hatters might be cut adrift by this point of the season but they have outperformed their fellow promoted clubs Burnley and Sheffield United.

A stunning 4-0 home win over Brighton on January 30 was followed by a 4-4 draw away to Newcastle, although not much has gone right for the Hatters since then.

They have lost their three subsequent league fixtures, going down 3-1 to bottom club Sheffield United and 2-1 to Manchester United at Kenilworth Road before a 4-1 defeat against title-chasing Liverpool at Anfield.

They were thumped 6-2 by Manchester City in the FA Cup fifth round on Tuesday, when five-goal Erling Haaland, teed up by the brilliant Kevin De Bruyne, illustrated the gulf in class between the European champions and a depleted Luton side.

Aston Villa are aiming to join City in next season's Champions League and they look to be back on track after a patchy run of post-Christmas performances.

Villa have won three of their last four league matches, thumping the Blades 5-0 at Bramall Lane, winning 2-1 at Fulham and beating Nottingham Forest 4-2 last weekend.

They were knocked out of the FA Cup by Chelsea in a fourth-round replay, so enjoyed a midweek break while Luton were being torn apart by Haaland and De Bruyne.

That should prove an additional advantage for Unai Emery's men, especially as the Hatters are missing several significant players due to injury.

Luton manager Rob Edwards will still send out his team to play positively and they have scored in 12 of their 14 matches against top-half teams this season.

They can trouble a Villa defence who have also been unsettled by injuries recently and it could pay to split stakes on a 3-1 and 3-2 victory for the visitors in the correct-score market.

Emery's men won October's reverse fixture 3-1 and their two victories over Burnley, the team immediately below Luton in the table, were by 3-1 and 3-2 scorelines.

Villa claimed back-to-back 1-0 home wins over Manchester City and Arsenal in early December but since then both teams have scored in eight of their ten league matches.

Luton have found the net in each of their last eight league and cup defeats, including a 3-2 home loss to Chelsea, so an entertaining contest is expected.

Key stat

Both teams have scored in Luton's last eight league and cup defeats

Probable teams

Luton (3-4-2-1): Kaminski; Osho, Mengi, Burke; Ogbene, Barkley, Clark, Doughty; Chong, Morris; Woodrow
Subs: Kabore, Hashioka, Berry, Johnson, Ruddock, Townsend, Piesold

Aston Villa (4-4-1-1): Martinez; Cash, Torres, Lenglet, Moreno; Bailey, Luiz, McGinn, Ramsey; Tielemans; Watkins
Subs: Digne, Chambers, Zaniolo, Iroegbunam, Diaby, Rogers, Konsa

Inside info

Luton

Star man Ross Barkley
Top scorer Carlton Morris
Penalty taker Carlton Morris
Card magnet Tahith Chong
Assist ace Alfie Doughty
Set-piece aerial threat Reece Burke

Aston Villa

Star man Ollie Watkins
Top scorer Ollie Watkins
Penalty taker Douglas Luiz
Card magnet John McGinn
Assist ace Ollie Watkins
Set-piece aerial threat Pau Torres

Luton v Aston Villa bet builder predictions

Over 1.5 first-half goals
Luton's last four home matches have featured 12 first-half goals while Aston Villa were 4-0 up inside 30 minutes at Sheffield United last month

Ross Barkley to have over 2.5 shots
The Luton midfielder has had 16 shots in his last five home league matches including five against Chelsea and five against Newcastle

Leon Bailey to score or assist
Villa's electric winger averages a goal or an assist every 84 minutes in the league this season and he could torment a leaky Luton defence

Price guide 11-2

New customers can get £30 in free bets when they bet £10 with Paddy Power

We’ve already mentioned that Paddy Power are offering £30 in free bets when you deposit and bet £10.

You can follow these simple steps outlined below to grab £30 in free bets to place on football with Paddy Power. It's fast, secure and straightforward.

1. Head over to Paddy Power through this link to get started.
2. Create your username and password and register a new account.
3. Place a £10 single football bet at odds of Evs (2.0) or greater.
4. Once your qualifying bet has settled you will be awarded a total of £30 in free bets. 

Paddy power betting sign-up offer: terms and conditions

It's worth taking a few minutes to read through the terms and conditions associated with the new player promotion before signing up. Doing so will help you get a better grasp of the details of this Paddy Power betting offer and what's expected of you as a new player.

• The qualifying bet should be a £10 single bet featuring odds of at least Evs (2.0)
• Upon settlement of the qualifying bet, you will be awarded a total of £30 in free bets
• New customers only
• Each free bet lasts for 30 days
• Best odds guaranteed does not apply to bets placed with a free bet, or partial free bet
• If you make more than one selection in your betslip which qualifies for this offer, the free bet will be applied to the selection with the longest odds
• You can use part of your free bets and save the rest for later, as long as you use it before they expire. Stakes are not returned with winnings if your free bet wins. Your winnings will be credited to your main wallet
• Deposits made with e-wallets including Skrill, Paysafe, PayPal, Apple Pay and Neteller will NOT count towards this promotion. Only Debit Cards are eligible
• The offer excludes the following bet types: Canadian, Goliath, Heinz, Lucky 15, Lucky 31, Lucky 63, Patent, Super Heinz, Trixie, Yankee & Cashed Out bets. 
• 18+. Begambleaware

Click for free bets and betting offers from the Racing Post

Commercial notice: This article contains affiliate links. Offers are handpicked and come from operators our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing and sports betting.