Luton Town Football Club

WHO? Dagenham & Redbridge, aka the Daggers, from Dagenham. Historically in Essex, officially they’re from the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham – which is also the official name of their stadium. They formed as recently as 1992 following the merger between Dagenham and Redbridge Forest. John Still guided the Daggers to the Football League, winning the Conference title in 2006/07, and in 2010 they then won promotion to League 1.  

WHEN? Town fans must remember that this game has been moved to the Sunday at the Daggers’ request. Furthermore the game will also kick-off an hour earlier at 2pm. So don’t forget to get up an hour earlier on the Sunday!

WHERE? It’s a 54.8-mile trip to Victoria Road from the Maple Road car park which should take you just over an hour by car. Directions-wise, take the M1 south and M25 clockwise, leaving the M25 at Junction 27 and taking the M11 towards London. At the end of the M11 continue onto the A406 towards Docklands (A13) and London City Airport. At the intersection with the A13, turn onto this road in the direction of the Dartford Crossing. At the junction with the A1306, leave the A13 and join the A1306 towards Dagenham. At the third set of traffic lights turn left just before the McDonalds into Ballards Road. At the end of this road you will come to a large roundabout, at which you turn left, into Rainham Road. Proceed up Rainham Road passing Dagenham East tube station on the left and Victoria Road is a quarter of a mile further on, on the same side of the road.

TICKETS PLEASE. This game is all-ticket for Town fans with seating behind the goal in the Traditional Builders Stand. This stand is the newest addition to the ground and is raised above pitch level affording unobscured views of the pitch. Over 1,000 tickets were sold and there will be none available on the day. Tickets go/went off sale at 3pm on Friday. Click here for details.

THIS TIME ROUND. The Daggers finished 14th in League 2 last term but Wayne Burnett’s side have struggled so far this term. On Sunday they will be aiming to win their first game on home turf after drawing three and losing four of their first seven home matches this season. Their best result so far this season came with a 2-1 win at Northampton in September. However the Daggers currently prop up League 2 with nine points, winning that one game against the Cobblers. Burnett’s side haven’t wo in nine games (D4, L5).

HAVEN’T WE MET BEFORE? Sunday will be the seventh meeting between the two sides. The Hatters have won three of the previous six meetings while Dagenham have won twice. The last meeting took place at Victoria Road in April, where Paul Benson was sent-off in a goalless draw. The Town have only won once on Dagenham soil: a 2-1 League Cup victory in August 2007 with Matthew Spring and Drew Talbot on target. The Daggers’ last win came on Valentine’s Day 2009 thanks to a 2-1 win. 

KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU. Plenty of connections as you would expect. As well as John Still, the Town contain a number of former Daggers, Paul Benson, Ryan Hall, Danny Green, Scott Griffiths, Magnus Okuonghae, Olly Lee, Craig Mackail-Smith and Luke Wilkinson have all been on the books at Victoria Road at some point either permanently or on loan. As for Dagenham they have two former Hatters in their ranks in the shape of midfielders Kane Ferdinand (two appearances) and Andre Boucaud (seven appearances).

TOWN TEAMS NEWS. The Town will be without the suspended Ryan Hall following his red card last week. Full team news to come from Friday afternoon onwards. Sean Long and Dan Potts both came off in last weekend’s defeat to Plymouth while Jack Marriott picked up a knock and Craig Mackail-Smith missed out. Stay tuned for full team news.

REF WATCH. Keith Hill takes charge of his 14th game of the season on Sunday. So far this term the Hertfordshire official has shown 47 yellow cards and three red cards. The last time he took charge of a Town game was the 1-0 win at Plymouth last season. Keith was the man-in-the-middle in some high-scoring games last year, including a 6-6 draw between Dagenham and Brentford, a 5-5 draw and an 8-0 away win for Bournemouth at Birmingham.

LIVE AND ONLINE. As ever, we’ll be reporting live from Kenilworth Road. Build-up starts at noon, so get on our early blog on the Wall for all the latest updates. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for photos, videos and all the behind-the-scenes action. Hatters Player subscribers will be able to listen to live commentary from just before 2pm with Simon Pitts in the press box. Post-match, remember to check out the official website, YouTube channel and Player for reports, interviews and photographs and don’t forget to tune in from midday on Sunday for all the highlights in glorious HD!