Next Up: Luton Town vs Exeter City

While City were at least competitive against Lincoln, going down to a single (disputed) goal, the same couldn’t be said about the 4-0 drubbing by fellow promotion favourites Cardiff on Saturday. The brutal run of fixtures in March continues with a trip to one of the biggest spenders in the division, albeit one whose league position is several places below expectations. One bright spot for Matt Taylor’s side is that Saturday passed by relatively unscathed in terms of the horrendous injury list, with Timur Tutierov returning to the bench after missing the defeats against Barnsley and Lincoln. Danny Andrew and Reece Cole both started against Cardiff and should also be available on Tuesday, although both may find themselves on the bench with the likes of Charlie Cummins and Jack Aitchison likely to start.

It’s fair to say that this season hasn’t gone to plan for Luton after successive relegations as they sought to make an immediate return to the second tier. Until Saturday’s win at Wycombe, the Hatters hadn’t won in the league in just over a month, although in that time they booked a trip to Wembley in the EFL Trophy. If they want another visit in May Jack Wilshere’s side will need to put together a big run in the final matches. Wilshere was busy in the transfer window, the key signing perhaps being Devante Cole from Port Vale, although there were a number of departures with 12 players leaving on loan, including former City forward Millenic Alli, who went up a division on loan to Portsmouth. Cole has yet to find the net for Luton, with Jordan Clarke and Gideon Kodua leading the way with nine league goals apiece. One player hoping to feature will be Jake Richards, the City youth prospect having missed both meetings with his former club previously.

Those meetings were contrasting in fortunes for City. The sides were paired in the knockout stages of the EFL Trophy, with Luton dishing out a 4-0 thumping at Kenilworth Road. Alli was on fire that night, although the goals were scored by Nordas (2), Morris and Nelson. City gained revenge on New Year’s Day with a 1-0 win at SJP in the league, Sweeney netting the winner. Despite that win Luton have a big league head to head lead with 27 wins to City’s 12, 14 matches finishing level.

The match officials for this game will be:-

Referee: Alex Chilowicz
Assistants: Adrian Tranter and Stephen Finch
Fourth Official: Andrew Ellis

Alex Chilowicz took charge of the Devon Derby in October which the Grecians won 2-0. Alex started life as a referee in USA in the MLS. So far this season he’s taken charge of 27 games, showing 89 yellow cards and 2 red cards/

Interview with Matt Taylor

Interview with Pierce Sweeney