The Hatters host Cardiff City in the Sky Bet Championship tomorrow afternoon as Graeme Jones’ side look to win successive home games for the first time in 2020.
After a 2-0 away defeat at West Bromwich Albion last weekend, Town are back at Kenilworth Road looking to replicate their winning performance against Derby County and move closer to safety.
Cardiff drew 1-1 with Reading in their last Championship fixture and are currently on a four-game unbeaten run which leaves them 12th in the table.
International supporters will be able to stream and follow the game live on iFollow Hatters. Subscribers can tune into Simon Pitts’ full match commentary as well.
Graeme Jones said:
(Please note that these quotes are from Graeme’s press conference on Thursday)
Update on Danny Hylton: “We’ve had some behind closed doors friendlies, games between ourselves, big space work and I see a lot more robust Danny Hylton. I still think he needs a little bit more, remember, he has never played in the Championship. All of a sudden you go from no football at all to playing in the Championship – it’s a big step up.
“The good thing for me is that I know where Danny was in the summer, he couldn’t sustain training. Danny’s been fit for maybe seven weeks now and the programme has worked. He’s out there most days, we’ve had no reaction and he looks a hungry animal, we’ve just got to try and give him as many minutes on a big pitch as we possibly can which is difficult without a reserve team so it takes a little bit longer because of that."
Importance of this month: “I just think about the next game. Let’s see if we can get a win and then go to the next one. I know we’ve got six games left in February, I know there is two three-game weeks.
“There’s a real opportunity to pick up points quickly and it can change anything, one good week could change where we are, I said that to the players last Monday in a meeting and I believe we can do that. But, we need to find out with actions, I think we’re in a good place with everybody fit, physically we are really churning out performances so for me it’s Cardiff and then when Cardiff is gone, I’ll look at Sheffield Wednesday.
“I have looked at the three teams this week so I’ve watched all three, I’ve got a good idea of what is coming. In football it changes, the biggest quality in football is to be adaptable and be flexible so that won’t change in the next seven or eight days."
Who?
Cardiff City hold the record for being the only team outside of England to win the FA Cup, which they did in 1927. They have been runners-up twice, most recently in 2008 when they were beaten by Portsmouth 1-0 at Wembley Stadium.
The Bluebirds were in the Premier League last season but suffered relegation under Neil Warnock as they now look to make a late charge for the play-offs. Warnock has since departed, with former Millwall boss Neil Harris taking over the reins in November 2019.
When and where?
Kick-off is 3pm on Saturday 8th February at Kenilworth Road.
Man in the middle?
The referee for Saturday’s game is James Linington – who has taken charge of 20 games this season, dishing out 63 yellows and three red cards.
Ticket information
Tickets are still available to buy for this fixture from the ticket office.
Played before?
The two sides met at the Cardiff City Stadium twice in August, first in the Championship when Cardiff were late 2-1 winners, and in the EFL Cup, as Town progressed into the third round with a 3-0 win.
The Hatters are currently on top in the all-time head to head standings, with 23 wins compared to Cardiff’s 19. There have also been 17 draws which makes tomorrow’s match the 60th meeting between the two teams.
Follow the action
The main blow-by-blow action account of the action from Kenilworth Road 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/