All you need to know ahead of tomorrow's match
Nathan Jones and his team travel to Meadow Lane tomorrow to contest the 70th meeting between the Hatters and Notts County.
Boss Jones welcomes Danny Hylton back into the fold after serving a one-match suspension for accumulating five yellow cards.
Ex-Oxford striker Hylton has received many plaudits from his manager in recent weeks, which is no surprise considering the 27-year-old has netted eight goals in 12 league appearances this season.
The Magpies will be without top scorer Jon Stead, who has an ankle injury, but fellow striker Aaron Collins, who was sent off in County’s terrific 2-1 win over Portsmouth at Fratton Park last Saturday, will be available after having his red card rescinded.
Former Bradford City, Bristol City and Sheffield United forward Stead picked up his injury against Crewe a fortnight ago and is expected to be out until Christmas. He will be a big miss for John Sheridan’s side, having scored nine league goals so far this term.
County, currently sat in sixth, are the only team in the top 16 of League Two to have only won one home league match in the 2016/17 season. Having recorded three draws and an equal amount of defeats at Meadow Lane, they have collected five of their six wins on the road.
Jones’ team are seven unbeaten in all competitions, although four of those matches have ended in 1-1 draws. Speaking in his press conference yesterday, the Welshman said it is something he wants to address, as his side look to continue that sequence without defeat.
He said: “We have an element of frustration within ourselves that we want to turn draws into wins. If we did that then we would be quite a phenomenal team.
“We are creating, we are playing well, we are looking solid, we are not looking a bad side. We are looking a good side and I think we are building a reputation that’s going before us. We have got to find ways of being even better than what we have been.
“Things are positive and we are seven games unbeaten. We have had a few draws in there, but they haven’t been lucky. We haven’t been clinging on to a draw or clinging on to a lead and lost it. We are a positive side and we are moving in the right direction.”
A win tomorrow for the Hatters would mean they have a perfect 50 per cent win record against the Magpies, having beaten them 34 times before. County have won 17 and the sides have drawn 18 matches.
Should the three points fall Town’s way and Doncaster lose against Wycombe Wanderers at the Keepmoat Stadium, Jones will see his side move into the final automatic promotion spot, currently occupied by Rovers.
If you aren’t one of the 1,800 or so travelling supporters, make sure you follow our Twitter feed @LutonTown, or if you are a Hatters Player subscriber, tune in for Simon Pitts’ match commentary for the 3pm kick-off.