The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Posh plan to make the Hatters mad on day one
Peterborough United will have to overcome history as well as Luton Town to start their 2021-22 Championship campaign with a victory.
Posh will travel to Kenilworth Road on opening day on Saturday, August 7, to face the Hatters.
Posh have won just two of 10 Football League fixtures at Luton Town – in 1964 when goals from Ray Horobin, Keith Smith and a home player secured a 3-2 success in a Division Three fixture and most recently in a Division Two game in 2002 which Posh also won 3-2.
That match also took place on the opening day of the season and featured a goal inside 80 seconds from Francis Green – the fastest goal of the entire opening day programme. Adam Newton and Andy Clarke also netted for Posh.
The first Championship opponents at the Weston Homes Stadium will be Wayne Rooney’s Derby County on Saturday, August 14 ...or it could be Wycombe Wanderers thanks to some typical prevarication by the EFL!
The EFL are appealing a decision to just fine Derby £100,000 for a financial rules breach as they want to impose a retrospective points deduction which would relegate the Rams and reprieve Wycombe so an interchangable fixture list between the clubs has been published.
The smart money is on Derby retaining their Championship place, but with a points deduction in place for next season. Rooney has threatened to quit if Derby are relegated. They currently have just nine contracted players because of their situation.
Posh complete their first month of Championship action with home games against Cardiff (August 17) and newly relegated West Brom (August 28) either side of a trip to Preston (August 21). A tough game at Sheffield United is the first match of September.
Posh will be pleased to have a home game on Boxing Day against Reading, but they travel for festive fixtures at Birmingham City (December 29) and Bournemouth (New Year’s Day).
Posh host Blackburn and visit Barnsley over Easter. They finish the season on May 7 at home to Blackpool who also won promotion to the Championship last season.
Posh will have weekends off in September, October and March because of designated international breaks, but that means plenty of midweek matches, some on a Wednesday, including lengthy trips to Blackburn (November 24) and Cardiff City (February 8).