A huge Premier League fixture awaits Luton Town in the hunt for survival as we host Nottingham Forest at Kenilworth Road on Saturday afternoon.
Rob Edwards’ Hatters will look to bounce back on home soil following the defeat at Bournemouth on Wednesday.
Nuno Espírito Santo’s Forest are just three points above the Hatters in the Premier League table and have lost their last four games in a row.
The opposition
Santo arrived at the City Ground following the departure of Steve Cooper in December with Forest in 17th place.
It was a positive start for Santo, who won back-to-back games against Manchester United and Newcastle United in the final week of 2023.
Forest have picked up just four points since then, both against sides that were reduced to ten-men during the game.
The visitors have won just one of their last 18 Premier League games against promoted sides, beating Sheffield United earlier this season. 11 of the other 17 games have ended as a draw.
Forest lost their last away league game at Kenilworth Road in April 2022, while they also lost their last top-flight visit in April 1992.
Team news
Town boss Rob Edwards will pick from the same side that featured in midweek at Bournemouth.
Tahith Chong was forced off with a knock on Wednesday but is available, as is Ross Barkley despite taking another blow to his broken nose sustained at Crystal Palace.
Edwards confirmed that Sambi Lokonga is likely to the be the next player to come back from injury but sadly striker Elijah Adebayo has suffered a set-back in his recovery from a hamstring injury and is likely to be out of action beyond the international break.
Last time we met
Luton were staring defeat in the face at the City Ground before an incredible 10-minute turnaround salvaged a draw for the Hatters.
Chris Wood’s second half double was matched with late Luton goals from Chieo Ogbene and Elijah Adebayo, with the latter finding the net in stoppage time.
Officials
The referee for our fixture against Forest will be Darren England.
119 yellow cards and three red cards have been handed out by England across his 22 games this season.
We last had a game officiated by England when we beat Newcastle at Kenilworth Road back in December.
Referee: Darren England
Assistant Referees: James Mainwaring & Richard West
Fourth Official: Dean Whitestone
VAR: Andrew Madley
AVAR: Simon Bennett
LOVE FOOTBALL. PROTECT THE GAME.
Luton Town Football Club has committed in its customer charter to providing safe match-day experiences for all supporters regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability or sexual orientation, and this applies equally to home and away fixtures.
In the event that any Luton supporters do make discriminatory chants, the Club will work with the police and football authorities to help identify such individuals. Any such fans would then face the strictest club sanctions, including football banning orders that would prevent them attending any matches, in addition to any criminal charges.
The Club can also be held responsible for the behaviour of its supporters, which could lead to substantial fines being imposed.
As a diverse and inclusive football club, we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our fellow Premier League clubs in supporting the FA’s ‘Love Football. Protect the Game’ campaign and call on all fans to enjoy the game in a positive spirit.
If you are offended by any discriminatory abuse of any kind at any of our games, you can report it by clicking here, or by contacting your nearest steward immediately. Alternatively, email myvoice@lutontown.co.uk or report the incident via Kick it Out's free, confidential reporting app on the App Store and Google Play.
Fan information
There will be a Buy One, Get One Free offer on all drinks inside the stadium from 1:30pm until 2:30pm.
Furthermore, the club shop at Kenilworth Road and in Park Street, will have a fresh stock of home and away shirts and will be available to buy prior to kick-off.
We would like to remind supporters to arrive at the game as early as possible to ease congestion around the stadium, at the Ticket Office and the turnstiles.
There will be additional road closures around Kenilworth Road on home matchdays.
A message from Luton Community Fire Station
Please park considerately when attending football matches at Kenilworth Road. Fire crews have been struggling recently to get around irresponsibly parked vehicles on Studley Road when attending fire calls, which has caused concerns and unnecessary restrictions over recent weeks.
Don’t park on yellow lines, these are used where street parking makes the road too narrow or blocks visibility for drivers. Parking on corners could mean that an emergency vehicle travelling on blue lights cannot see oncoming traffic round the corner.
If you park without considering passing emergency vehicles, you could prevent a life from being saved.
