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Match Previews

MATCH PREVIEW | BRISTOL ROVERS V LUTON TOWN

29 March 2019

Match Previews

MATCH PREVIEW | BRISTOL ROVERS V LUTON TOWN

29 March 2019

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The Hatters could match a club record of 27 league games unbeaten should they avoid defeat at Bristol Rovers tomorrow afternoon.

Already on a club record EFL run of 26 games unbeaten, Town are within touching distance of the wonderful record they achieved back in the 2013/14 promotion winning season from the Conference.

A 4-0 win over Doncaster last weekend helped the Town maintain their five point gap between themselves and second placed Barnsley, whilst opening up a gap of nine points between themselves and Pompey, who now occupy third.

They take on a Pirates side that had a dreadful start this season, which ended up costing Darrell Clarke his job at the Memorial Stadium, with a 2-1 defeat at Sunderland in mid-December following his departure seeing the club sit four points from safety in 23rd spot.

However, just three defeats since then have reversed their fortunes, defeating clubs around them like Walsall, Oxford and Scunthorpe to haul them away from danger. A heavy defeat to Doncaster on Tuesday night saw them still very much in a relegation battle, even though they are in 15th spot heading into the weekend.

We have been advised that alcohol will not be available in the away bar at the Memorial Stadium.

MICK HARFORD SAYS:

On Dan Potts' fitness: "Pottsy has had a scan and he's touch and go whether he'll be fit for the weekend. It looks like he's got a slight strain on the side of his knee, his ligament, we're not sure how long he's going to be. Apart from Dan, everyone's okay though."

On Alan McCormack's fitness: "Macca is fit and ready to return to the team so we're getting one or two options back. We've got great options, we've always said we needed a strong squad to finish the season, that's why we brought in the lads on loan who have been excellent around the place in terms of their attitudes. They haven't had much game time, but they work hard, they do extra training and if they're needed, they're ready."

On who he plans to play up top this weekend: "We've decided, but I'm not going to give it away in terms of who's playing upfront on Saturday as we don't want to give any information out to the opposition, but we've decided who's going to play upfront.

"We're not short in the striking department and we have another very good player coming in shortly from Brighton, Aaron Connolly, so there's a lot of options in our striking department. It is a difficult selection process we have to go though, we did a bit of work this morning with the team, hopefully it works well, gels well and it goes to plan.

"Hylton and Collins are similar in size and two target men, but in my opinion, they do complement each other, in a certain way, as when the ball goes forward, we try to get them into a certain shape to try and get the best out of them.

"Danny's scoring goals and Collins is scoring goals as well, so it's going to be a difficult decision to make - who's going to play upfront at the weekend - but we've made it and we'll get on with it."

WHO?

Gas have dragged themselves out of the relegation zone after a dismal start to the campaign and now sit 13th in the third tier. Unfortunately for them, it is seemingly the most open relegation battle that this division may have ever seen, with even 12th placed Plymouth Argyle only three points clear of 21st placed Walsall.

Their form since Christmas is right up there with the highflyers in League One, and had they started in similar fashion, they may well have been fighting it out for a place in the Championship.

WHEN AND WHERE?

Kick-off is at 3pm at the Memorial Stadium on Saturday 30th March.

MAN IN THE MIDDLE?

Tomorrow's game will be refereed by Charles Breakspear, who has overseen 38 games this season, dishing out 124 yellow cards and 12 red cards.

TICKET INFORMATION

The ticket allocation for this game has sold out. Please do not travel unless you have purchased a ticket in advance.

PLAYED BEFORE?

The Hatters took on Gas earlier on this season, with Andrew Shinnie grabbing the all-important goal in a 1-0 win. That was Town's 47th victory in this fixture, having drawn 29, and lost on 47 occasions.

FOLLOW THE ACTION

The main blow-by-blow account of the action from Memorial Stadium 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/

And of course Simon Pitts will be on hand to provide commentary for iFollow Hatters which you can subscribe to by clicking here.


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