Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Championship clash between Luton Town and Watford, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Luton Town and Watford renew their rivalry on Saturday afternoon with a showdown at Kenilworth Road.
At a time when the Hatters sit in 21st position in the Championship standings, the Hornets occupy a place in the playoffs.
Match preview
© Imago
Having overseen what was a respectable first-ever Premier League campaign, there was the perception that Rob Edwards had plenty of credit in the bank at Luton.
Instead, the head coach finds himself under pressure to get things back on track with his side collecting just eight points from their opening nine games.
Successive wins over Millwall and Sheffield Wednesday in September appeared to have kick-started their season, only for just one point to be accumulated in the following three matches.
Although a defeat at Sheffield United was perhaps to be expected, losing 3-1 at Plymouth Argyle and letting slip a two-goal lead versus Oxford United was not.
Sitting just three points adrift of 14th place, Edwards knows that a win on Saturday against his former club could work wonders, yet he will be aware of the backlash that he will face if Luton suffer a sixth Championship defeat in 10 outings.
Tom Cleverley is enjoying a far more positive season with Watford, who have impressively taken 16 points from their first nine games to emerge as surprise promotion contenders.
Things remain far from perfect with the Hornets having lost their last three fixtures on their travels, but Cleverley would have jumped at this points tally had it been handed to him prior to the start of the season.
In sharp contrast to their efforts away from familiar territory, Watford have been outstanding at Vicarage Road, recording four wins and one draw from their five games.
Sitting within three points of the leaders, there is an opportunity to involve themselves in a title race if they can keep collecting wins with regularity.
Luton Town Championship form:
Watford Championship form:
Watford form (all competitions):
Team News
© Imago
With Mark McGuinness suffering an injury while on duty with Republic of Ireland, Tom Holmes could be brought into the backline if Mads Andersen is not passed fit.
Jacob Brown is an option in the final third, depending on whether Edwards chooses to use Victor Moses at wing-back or in attack.
Liam Walsh continues to serve the suspension handed to him for his red card versus Oxford.
Meanwhile, Edo Kayembe and Kwadwo Baah are both pushing for starts in the Watford XI after their goals as substitutes versus Middlesbrough.
Moussa Sissoko and Tom Ince may miss out, depending on how attack-minded Cleverley wishes to go in a bid to end their poor away form.
Vakoun Bayo is also an option to get the nod over Daniel Jebbison in attack.
Luton Town possible starting lineup:
Kaminski; Burke, Mengi, Holmes; Doughty, Krauss, Nakamba, Walters; Clark; Adebayo, Moses
Watford possible starting lineup:
Bond; Andrews, Pollock, Ogbonna, Porteous, Sema; Kayembe, Dele-Bashiru; Baah, Bayo, Chakvetadze
We say: Luton Town 2-1 Watford
While Watford may be enjoying a strong start under Cleverley, we cannot ignore their form away from Vicarage Road. With that in mind, Luton could edge this contest by the odd goal in three, kick-starting their campaign and relieving some pressure on Edwards in the process.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.