Luton come out on top in new Championship study as West Brom slump is laid bare

Luton Town might be the underdogs going into the Championship play-offs - but they are top of one table this season.

A special study has looked into the best and worst performing teams in the second tier when it comes to final position in relation to team value.

The Hatters, who finished sixth to clinch the final play-off spot, can rightly claim to be the best performing Championship side based on the difference between their predicted position and where they actually ended up. Finishing sixth means Nathan Jones' side placed a distinctly applaudable 13.5 places above where they should have been expected to based on the value of their players and the total cost of their squad.

The study, undertaken by number-crunchers at BettingOdds.com, shows how good a job Jones and his players have done so far. They will be aiming to continue the good work and stay on course for an unlikely tilt at the Premier League by overcoming Huddersfield Town in the play-off semi-finals with the first leg on Friday night.

Incidentally, the Terriers come second on this particular list after a season of overachievement themselves. Town finished third in the regular table and in doing so improved on their expected position by a score of 10.25.

The study used an algorithm that broke down team value into individual position (goalkeeper, defence, midfield and attack) to produce an average weighted score (the four average values of each individual positional field ranked in ascending order, combined and divided to produce an average) and measured it against their final position in Championship.

Coventry City, who fell just short at the play-off hurdle, came third in this particular list after a strong campaign. Mark Robins' side finished 12th but