Editing Watford F.C. (section)

==Luton rivalry==
{{Main|Luton Town F.C.–Watford F.C. rivalry}}

Watford fans maintain a rivalry with those of [[Luton Town F.C.|Luton Town]]. The two sides met regularly in the Southern League between 1900 and 1920,<ref>Jones 1998, pp. 27–63.</ref> and continued to do so in The Football League until 1937,<ref name=head2head /> when Luton gained promotion from Division Three South. Luton remained in a higher division than Watford until 1963.<ref name=hertsbeds>Harrison, David (March 2002). [http://www.wsc.co.uk/content/view/2944/29/ "Herts rule Beds"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523035053/http://www.wsc.co.uk/content/view/2944/29/ |date=23 May 2012 }}. ''[[When Saturday Comes]]''. Retrieved 19 April 2012.</ref>

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Watford and Luton met sporadically. Despite this, the rivalry grew in significance, particularly following an ill-tempered match between the sides in 1969, in which three players were sent off.<ref name=hertsbeds /> Both sides won promotion to the First Division in the 1981–82 season, with Luton taking the championship ahead of Watford.<ref name=promotion1982 /> They were also relegated together from the new Division 1 (now the Premier League) in 1995–96, with Watford finishing 23rd ahead of bottom-placed Luton.<ref>Brown, Tony. [http://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/division-one/1995-1996 "English Division One 1995–1996: Table"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181014204308/http://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/division-one/1995-1996 |date=14 October 2018}}. Statto.com. Retrieved 2 May 2012.</ref><ref name=flc group=lower-alpha /> Watford's promotion from Division 2 in 1997–98 meant that the two sides did not meet again until Luton won promotion to the Championship for the 2005–06 season.<ref name=flc group=lower-alpha /> The only meeting between those seasons – a League Cup tie in the 2002–03 season – was marred by violence inside Vicarage Road.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/2249877.stm|title=Joint probe launched into trouble|publisher=BBC Sport |access-date=7 February 2011|date=11 September 2002}}</ref>

On 2 January 2006, Watford won 2–1 at Kenilworth Road in the Championship, followed by a 1–1 draw between the sides, on 9 April 2006, a point that secured Watford's place in the 2006 Championship play-offs, from which they eventually won promotion to the Premier League for the second time, beating Leeds United 3–0 at the [[Millennium Stadium]] in [[Cardiff]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/4867690.stm "Watford 1–1 Luton"]. BBC Sport. 9 April 2006. Retrieved 19 April 2012.</ref>

Over a fourteen-season span, Watford played in a higher division than Luton (between the [[2006–07 in English football|2006–07]] and the [[2019–20 in English football|2019–20]] seasons), with Luton dropping out of the football league altogether for six seasons between [[2009–10 in English football|2009–10]] and [[2014–15 in English football|2014–15]].<ref name=recentseasons>Brown, Tony. [http://www.statto.com/football/teams/watford/history/modern "Watford history 1975 to date"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110416052604/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/watford/history/modern |date=16 April 2011}}. Statto.com. Retrieved 19 April 2012.</ref><ref>Brown, Tony. [http://www.statto.com/football/teams/luton-town/history/modern "Luton Town history 1975 to date"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120608001939/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/luton-town/history/modern |date=8 June 2012}}. Statto.com. Retrieved 19 April 2012.</ref>

The rivalry between the two clubs resumed in the [[2020–21 in English football|2020–21]] season. On 26 September 2020, Watford won the first league match of the season between the two clubs, 1–0, at Vicarage Road.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.watfordfc.com/match-report/match-report-watford-1-0-luton-town |title=Watford 1–0 Luton Town |publisher=Watford Football Club |last=Affleck |first=Kevin |date=26 August 2020 |access-date=9 August 2021 }}</ref> On 17 April 2021 in the reverse fixture at Kenilworth Road, Luton won the match 1–0. With Watford's promotion back to the [[Premier League]] for season [[2021–22 in English football|2021–22]], the rivalry did not commence that year; although it resumed for the [[2022–23 in English football|2022–23]] season after Watford's immediate relegation from the Premier League, whilst Luton remained in the Championship. Luton were promoted to the [[2023–24 Premier League]], but were relegated back to the Championship after one season.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

The head-to-head record between the clubs, in competitions which currently exist, stands at Luton 55 wins, Watford 38 wins, with 29 draws.{{efn|This refers to games played in [[English Football League|The Football League]], [[FA Cup]] and [[EFL Cup|Football League Cup]]. Soccerbase covers matches played in these competitions since Watford joined the Football League in 1920 – the record in these matches is Luton 35 wins, Watford 27 wins, 22 draws.<ref name=head2head>[http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/head_to_head.sd?team_id=2741&team2_id=1628 "Head-to-head: Watford vs Luton"]. ''Soccerbase''. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 April 2012.</ref> The teams met five times in the FA Cup prior to the 1920–21 season: Luton won 4 games, and the other was drawn.<ref>{{cite web |title=Watford's FA Cup history |publisher=Watford Football Club |access-date=23 April 2012 |url=http://www.watfordfc.com/page/History/0,,10400~1229279,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100211013940/http://www.watfordfc.com/page/History/0%2C%2C10400~1229279%2C00.html |archive-date=11 February 2010}}</ref>}}