Luton Town F.C.–Watford F.C. rivalry
        Luton Town
home colours  Watford
home colours |
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| Other names |
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|---|---|
| Locale | Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire |
| Teams | |
| First meeting |
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| Latest meeting |
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| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 118 |
| All-time series | 53–29–36 Luton Town |
| Largest victory |
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South-eastern English football clubs Luton Town and Watford have been rivals since their respective formations in the late 19th century. The clubs are respectively from Luton, Bedfordshire, and Watford, Hertfordshire, and for this reason a match between the two teams is sometimes called a "Beds–Herts Derby". Another name occasionally used in the press is "M1 Derby", which comes from the M1 motorway, which passes both towns. The clubs, which were both founded during the 1880s, met competitively for the first time in the 1898–99 FA Cup. Following this they played each other regularly in the Southern League and The Football League until 1936–37, when Luton's promotion separated them in league competition until 1963–64. The animosity intensified during the late 1960s and the 1970s, and reached a peak during the 1980s, when both teams played in the top-flight First Division. Watford were relegated at the end of the 1987–88 season, while Luton followed four years later.
The clubs regularly played against each other in the league for six seasons during the 1990s, in the second and third tiers of English football. Since then, however, the teams have not met regularly, as Watford have played in higher divisions than Luton for 18 of the last 19 seasons. Since the 1997–98 season, at the end of which Watford won promotion, there have been only two league meetings between the two teams, both of which were played during the 2005–06 season, when both teams were in the Football League Championship, English football's second level. The most recent winners in a head-to-head match were Watford, who beat Luton 2–1 at Kenilworth Road on 2 January 2006. The most recent match, played at Watford's Vicarage Road ground on 9 April 2006, ended in a 1–1 draw. During the forthcoming 2017–18 season Watford will be competing three divisions above their rivals in the top tier of English football, the Premier League; while Luton are in the fourth-tier League Two.
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