All you need to know ahead of meeting with the Minstermen
Luton Town v York City
Sky Bet League 2
Saturday 10th October 2015, kick-off 3pm
Official live online commentary on Hatters Player
• Town won last four matches in League 2
• York not won any of their last five league games
• Hatters won last two home games without conceding
• Minstermen unbeaten in last eight meetings v Town
• Hatters only won one of last 13 games v City
• Town waiting on fitness of Craig Mackail-Smith
TICKETS! Fancy coming to the game? Well, tickets for the match against the Minstermen are now on sale at the ticket office at category B prices, details of which can be found by clicking here.
WHO? York City, aka the Minstermen, are our visitors to Kenilworth Road on Saturday. Founded in 1922, the furthest City have got in the football pyramid was the second division (now Championship) in the 1970s. In 2004 they were relegated out of the league, however, and spent six seasons in the Conference.
DON’T REMIND US. Their final promotion from the Conference came over the Hatters in 2012 when they came from behind to defeat us 2-1 at Wembley. Andre Gray fired the Town ahead early on to spark wild celebrations among the 30,000 Hatters fans but goals from Ashley Chambers and Matty Blair secured promotion for Gary Mills’ side.
IN CHARGE. Mills was dismissed after a dodgy start to their first campaign back in the Football League and was replaced by Nigel Worthington, who then guided City to the Play-Offs. However last season Worthington was axed and Russ Wilcox took over in October last year. The former defender guided former club Scunthorpe to promotion from League 2.
HAVEN’T WE MET BEFORE? Yes, 28 times to be precise. Now the Hatters’ recent record against the Minstermen is disappointing to say the least: the Town haven’t won any of the last eight meetings in all competitions. In fact the Hatters have only won one of the last 13 meetings – and that win (5-0 in the Conference) was helped by the fact York had their goalkeeper sent-off! Given that record it’s surprising to note that the Town still hold the advantage in the head-to-head record, winning 11 to York’s nine. Last season we drew 0-0 at Bootham Crescent before coming back from two goals down to earn a point in a 2-2 draw at Kenilworth Road in February.
PREVIOUS FORM. York arrive at Kenilworth Road on Saturday in 18th place in the League 2 table but fresh from a 2-0 midweek win over League 1 side Doncaster in the JPT. However in the bread and butter of the league, City haven’t won in their last five, drawing three and losing twice. Away from Bootham Crescent they’ve won just once, a 3-0 victory at bottom-of-the-table Newport.
TOWN TEAM NEWS. The Hatters will definitely be without Paddy McCourt, who is away with Northern Ireland as they celebrate automatic qualification to Euro 2016 after beating Greece on Friday night. They end their qualification campaign away to Finland on Sunday.
The Town will wait to assess the fitness of striker Craig Mackail-Smith after he came off with a hamstring tweak in the 4-1 win at Hartlepool last weekend. Paul Benson has had an injection this week to cure a neck injury and should return to training next week.
A hosts of players topped up their fitness in the week with 90 minutes in the JPT defeat to Gillingham, the likes of Magnus Okuonghae, Dan Potts and Nathan Doyle are all in contention for a place in the Town squad, as is Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu who played a full game for the development squad on Tuesday afternoon.
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 3pm 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!