Manager Rob Edwards believes that the Hatters need to be “totally at it” on Wednesday night as Town prepare for the visit of in-form Bristol City at Kenilworth Road.
The Robins currently sit in 13th place in the Sky Bet Championship and have picked up 19 points in their last ten games.
Town are in fine form too, however, with just one defeat in their last ten matches and 30 points from the 15 games since Edwards and his assistants Richie Kyle and Paul Trollope arrived in November.
They moved up to fourth with a 1-0 win at second-placed Sheffield United on Saturday, and asked whether his side had hit form at the perfect time, Edwards said: “You want good form at all times but, of course, at this stage of the season, there are a good few teams that are putting runs together. This is the time where we want to pick up as many points as possible.
“The lads are confident. They’re working really hard, they’re in a good moment and long may that continue. But I will say that the team we’re playing tomorrow, Bristol City, are in a similar vein of form. It’ll be a really difficult game, but one we’re looking forward to.
“It could be a really interesting one. They’re a little bit different to some of the teams we’ve played, so it’ll be a different game for us."
Nigel Pearson’s men have had a positive record since the World Cup break and have lost just one league game in 2023 so far, and their change of playing style was noted by the Hatters boss.
“Since the World Cup break, they’ve done really well," said Edwards. "They’ve found a way of playing that really suits them. They’ve got some really good individuals, they’ve got good variation in their play, fast on the counter-attack.
“They’ll have the ball if you give it to them and they’ve got some players that are confident on the ball, good variation, fast, attacking players and players that will dribble and take some risks. It’s a game that we’ve got to be totally at it to get anything from it.
“[Anis] Mehmeti’s been a really good signing. [Alex] Scott, who I think’s an outstanding young player, and there are others. It doesn’t matter whether they play [Nahki] Wells, who’s more experienced, or young Dan Bell. There’s lots of different players that can play that give them something different.
“We have done our homework as we always do, we’ll prepare in exactly the same way as we do for any other game. This is a really challenging game, especially after our last one [against Sheffield United]. It’s really important that we back up a really strong performance and do the basics well."
Returning to Kenilworth Road for the first time since joining the Robins on transfer deadline day in January is striker Harry Cornick, who helped the Hatters to back-to-back promotions from League Two to the Championship in his five-and-a-half seasons with the club.
“We’ll welcome him back," said Edwards. "He’s been a huge part of this club’s success over a good number of years, from League Two and up to the Championship play-offs. I know our supporters will recognise people that have worked extremely hard for this football club and done a lot for this football club. I know they’ll give him a really good reception."