Grimsby Town – Luton Town

Club from the Championships will go through to the 1/8 finals of the national cup

Although Luton Town began their journey in the FA Cup at the 1/32 stage, the team will play a total of four fixtures over the two rounds. First, the Hatters needed a replay to determine the winner of their duel with Wigan. Back then, the first match between the Championship teams ended 1-1, and in the second, Luton Town needed a 90+8 minute goal to prove their advantage. The Hatters have now drawn out their showdown with the more humble Grimsby. The League Two club, England's fourth-ranked division, began their journey at the 1/128 final stage. Grimsby took turns beating Plymouth (5-1), Cambridge United (2-1) and Burton Albion (1-0). Paul Hurst's side beat their last two opponents not without difficulty, scoring the winning goals in the closing stages of the meetings. In the first game against Luton Town, the League Two side performed well, hitting the net seven times against Ethan Horvath. Grimsby Town were both 1-0 and 1-2 down during that game, but managed to get a draw. Bookmakers have suggested that the favourites for the meeting are the more established visitors with odds of around 1.90 to win... Grimsby are having a season in League Two without much ambition, so the team's cup promotion could be their biggest success this year. Despite having games in reserve, Grimsby Town sit in 16th place with a negative goal difference. Luton Town have been much more successful in the Championship. The Hatters started the season poorly, but in time not only got out of the bottom half of the league table, but also moved into third place in the Championship in terms of points lost. Given that the team had already had a taste of the Championship play-offs last year, it shouldn't be ruled out going to the Premier League. It's hard to believe, but back in the 2017/2018 season, Luton Town and Grimsby played together in League Two. At the end of that championship, the Hatters moved up to League One and Grimsby were beaten 1-0 and 2-0 in both meetings. Luton Town are in decent form at the moment. The club have beaten Stoke City and Cardiff in the last week. After the meeting with Grimsby, the Hatter will have three days off - why not give it their all for the sake of the FA Cup 1/8 final.