Luton Town return to Kenilworth Road a goal down with a place at Wembley Stadium at stake in the play-off semi-final second leg against Sunderland on Tuesday evening.
The Hatters took the lead 11 minutes into the first leg through Elijah Adebayo before Amad Diallo and Trai Hume turned the game around in the Black Cats’ favour.
This tie will go to extra-time and potentially a penalty shootout if the Hatters win by one goal in the 90 minutes.
Please read the Love Football, Protect The Game message to supporters to remain in the stands before, during and after the game.
Rob Edwards said:
(Click HERE to watch Rob’s pre-match press conference in full)
“The first goal is important, but we’ve been very good at getting the first goal this season, probably as good as anyone in the league at getting the first goal. I suppose the more first goals you do get, you can get pegged back a little bit more than other teams as well, which happened on Saturday.
“In this particular game now, getting the first goal will level the tie up and then it’s back in the balance completely, so it will be important. It’s not the be-all and end-all, you can come back from two-down as well and you’ve got to keep believing right until the very end, but the first goal will obviously be key.”
The opposition:
Sunderland pipped Millwall to the last play-off spot on the final day of the season with a 3-0 win at Preston and come into the play-off semi-final nine games unbeaten.
The Black Cats have not lost since March and have found form at the right time, which contributed to breaking into the top six.
Manchester United loanee Amad Diallo has netted twice against the Hatters this season after his spectacular free-kick found the top corner in the first leg.
Former Tottenham Hotspur winger Jack Clarke contributed to the tie with an assist from a short corner for Sunderland’s second goal on Saturday, adding to his 20 goal contributions during the regular season.
Last time we met at Kenilworth Road:
Luton Town shared the points with Sunderland at Kenilworth Road back in October.
Carlton Morris opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time after good play from Alfie Doughty on the right before Elliot Embleton equalised for the Black Cats in the second half.
Ticket information:
Tickets for this fixture have now sold out. Thank you all for your support!
There will be a Buy One Get One Free offer inside the stadium for all drinks from 6:30pm until 7:15pm. This offer includes Beers, Hot Drinks, Water and Soft Drinks. This offer is only available inside the stadium and does not include the Burger Bar.
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.
Selected international audiences will be able to watch the game live on iFollow with a match pass, click HERE to find out which countries have been selected.
Danny Hylton and Wayne Turner will be on iFollow Hatters commentary alongside Simon Pitts, audio match passes are available for every match for £2.50.
The officials:
Referee: Simon Hooper
Assistant Referees: Adrian Holmes and Mark Scholes
Fourth Official: Andrew Madley
The man in the middle at Kenilworth Road will be Simon Hooper.
He has not taken charge of a Hatters game yet this season.
Hooper has taken charge of 29 games this season – 27 of which were in the Premier League – handing out 101 yellow cards and 1 red card.