Luton Town host West Bromwich Albion in their first home league match of 2023.
Rob Edwards' side come into the game on the back of three successive victories in the Sky Bet Championship, whilst the Baggies have won eight of their last nine league matches, keeping seven clean sheets in the process.
Rob Edwards said:
"West Brom in the Championship are a very big fish and usually if they’re in this league, they’re used to competing at the top end of it. With the players they have got, you would expect them to be there as well.
"They’re obviously making a charge now, they have a lot of quality. When we played them in a previous life earlier in the season you could see the quality that they had. They weren’t getting the results for whatever reason but they were playing well, creating chances, they weren’t giving many chances away and weren’t quite getting over the line, now they are and they will be confident but we are as well, we’re always confident at home."
The opposition:
Carlos Corberan has overseen a magnificent change in fortune ever since he took charge at The Hawthorns. From second-bottom in the Championship to ninth before today's game, the Spaniard has won eight of his 10 league matches in charge so far.
Brandon Thomas-Asante is their leading scorer with seven goals but starts a three-match suspension on Saturday, which leaves Daryl Dike and Karlan Grant as the front-runners to start up-front. The former returned from injury in December and scored his first two West Brom goals, the most recent of which came in the 1-0 win against Reading earlier this month.
Last time we met:
The Hatters extended their unbeaten run to five matches in the Sky Bet Championship with a goalless draw against West Brom in October.
It was a far more memorable occasion when the Baggies last visited Kenilworth Road.
After a quiet first half, Cameron Jerome rose highest from Kal Naismith’s free-kick to give Town the lead ten minutes after the restart.
As the game entered the closing stages, Allan Campbell added a second for the Hatters, finding the top corner with a fantastic effort.
Matchday information:
Two former Hatters will be in attendance at the Park Street store this Saturday to sign copies of 'They Played for David Pleat at Luton Town'!
Alan Judge and Tim Breacker will join author Phil Duffy at the store between 11:30am and 1pm this Saturday, prior to the home match against West Brom.
The pair will also be in the stadium shop after the match to sign more copies!
Ticket information:
Season Card holders who are unable to attend this fixture are encouraged to contact the Ticket Office as soon as possible via email to ticketoffice@lutontown.co.uk. Buy-back requests will not be accepted after 3pm on Friday 13th January.
Releasing your seats for re-sale will enable other supporters to purchase tickets for the game.
In return we will issue a £10 buy-back voucher (£5 for Juniors/Youths). This voucher can be used at bars and food and catering units throughout the ground. It can also be used in either Club Shop. The voucher will be issued and available for collection at the ticket office after the game has been played.
Any returned tickets will be released for sale at 10am on Thursday 12th January to supporters already on the database with a previous purchasing history online, or from the Ticket Office by phone or in person.
How to follow:
- Text updates on the Match Centre
- Twitter and Facebook updates
- Listen live on iFollow Hatters
For supporters who want to watch or listen to all available iFollow matches this season and have access to exclusive content, including pre-match press conferences and player interviews, subscription details can be found HERE.
Simon Pitts is on iFollow Hatters commentary and audio match passes are available for every match for £2.50.
Match passes are available for international supporters anywhere outside of the UK costing £10 each.
The officials:
Referee: Josh Smith
Assistant Referees: Graham Kane and Akil Howson
Fourth Official: Ollie Yates
The man in the middle on Saturday afternoon is Josh Smith.
He last refereed a Luton match in September, officiating the 2-0 home win against Blackburn Rovers.
So far this term, Smith has taken charge of 19 matches - 16 of which in the Championship - dishing out 93 yellow cards and three reds.