The Hatters head north once again this afternoon, travelling a few miles past Tuesday’s destination of Sheffield Wednesday as they prepare to take on the Owls’ south Yorkshire neighbours Barnsley at Oakwell in tomorrow’s 3pm kick-off.
The 23,000-capacity stadium will be like home from home for many of the Town squad, with eight current Hatters having played for the Tykes at some point during their careers.
Jacob Butterfield and James Bree both came through the ranks at Oakwell, while Martin Cranie, Luke Berry, Elliot Lee, Matty Pearson and George Moncur had permanent stays there and Ryan Tunnicliffe spent time on loan from Manchester United in 2013.
Of course, the familiarity spreads further than just former players, with the Hatters having fought a thrilling title tussle with the Tykes last season, eventually taking the silverware on the final day despite having taken just one point from the two games against Barnsley.
The Yorkshire club have ex-Hatters Cameron McGeehan and Cauley Woodrow in their side, who started this season with a win over Fulham before losing to Wednesday, drawing 2-2 at home to the third promoted club, Charlton, and going down 2-0 at Birmingham in midweek.
They currently sit 20th in the four-game-old table, two places above the Hatters who are three points behind with just the one on the board so far, from the 3-3 opening night draw with Middlesbrough.
The Hatters have had eight different scorers of their eight goals in all competitions so far this season, but will be without defender Cranie, who suffered a knee injury that resulted in him being carried off on a stretcher at Hillsborough. The ex-Sheffield United man was having the injury scanned yesterday to assess the damage.
Fellow defenders Dan Potts and Brendan Galloway are doubts having missed the midweek fixture, along with forward Callum McManaman, although manager Graeme Jones said all three would be monitored today to determine their availability. Luke Berry was back in training yesterday, but Danny Hylton is ruled out having undergone surgery to clean up a knee problem.
GRAEME JONES SAID:
On Barnsley: "They are a capable team tactically and individually. Obviously they beat Fulham on the opening day, drew 2-2 with Charlton, who got a penalty late in the game. Barnsley were probably the better side. At home they are always a threat. They are a capable outfit."
On whether eight Hatters going back to face their former club is a good thing: "I think it can work both ways. The good thing is that they’ve got familiarity with the set-up there and the audience and what we are going to go and face. I always take these things into consideration...but I didn’t know there was eight!"
On whether facing a newly-promoted team is a better opportunity to get that first win: "No, I just assess every game on its own merits. As I said on Tuesday, the next game is Barnsley and we need to prepare well for Barnsley – we are in the process of that – and make sure we are competitive."
WHO?
The Tykes have bounced between the Championship and League One a number of times over recent years, their promotion last season as runners-up in League One behind the Hatters meant an immediate return to the second tier after relegation the previous year. They had spent a two-year stint in the Championship prior that 2017-18 drop. Once a Premier League side, albeit for a single season, Barnsley have more recently won the Football League Trophy (2015/16) and currently contain two former Town players in their squad - midfielder Cameron McGeehan and striker Cauley Woodrow.
WHEN AND WHERE?
Kick-off is at 3pm at Oakwell on Saturday 24th August.
MAN IN THE MIDDLE?
Stephen Martin will take charge of the game at Oakwell. So far this season the Staffordshire official has refereed three matches, issuing nine yellow cards and no reds. Last season he showed 84 yellows and three reds in 35 matches.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets remaining from the Town's 1,496 allocation are on sale until 2pm today at the following prices:
Adult: £20.00
65 and over: £15.00
Young Adult (19-21): £15.00
Juvenile (12-18): £10.00
Under-12s (with Adult or Senior): £5.00
Wheelchair and ambulant supporters should pay the normal age related price and are entitled to a carer ticket free of charge.
Should tickets be made available on the day, it will be cash only at the North Stand turnstiles. Prices increase by £2. Juvenile and Under 12 tickets would need to be purchased from the Box Office.
PLAYED BEFORE?
The Hatters met the Yorkshiremen twice last season in League One, with Daniel Stendel’s side running out 3-2 winners at Oakwell back last October before a goalless draw on New Year's Day at Kenilworth Road. In total, Town have been victorious over Barnsley on 23 occasions, drawn nine, and lost 27 times in the 59 meetings between the sides.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
The main blow-by-blow account of the action from Oakwell will be provided via the Match Centre on the club website, which you can access by clicking here. (*Please note that the club's Live Text will appear only by accessing through an internet browser, users of the Luton Town FC app will receive updates from Opta)
The main moments from the game will appear on the Hatters' social media feeds:
Twitter – @LutonTown
Facebook – www.facebook.com/LutonTown/
Instagram – www.instagram.com/ltfc_official/
LISTEN LIVE ON IFOLLOW HATTERS
As ever, Simon 'Statto' Pitts will be on hand to provide commentary for iFollow Hatters which you can subscribe to by clicking here.
Supporters based overseas can watch a live video stream of the match if they are already subscribers, or by purchasing a match pass.
VISITING SUPPORTER'S GUIDE
Barnsley have put together a visitor's guide to Oakwell, which you can access by clicking here.