Coming into the season, Luton Town and Nottingham Forest had differing expectations for their final league position come May.
The Hatters, who last season enjoyed a second successive promotion, are many fans favourites for relegation and despite a promising start, have done little to distinguish pre-season predictions.
Forest on the other hand are hoping that French manager Sabri Lamouchi could be the man to finally return the two times European Champions to the Premier League.
Inconsistent Form for Both Sides
The home side come into this encounter after being narrowly defeated by Fulham at Craven Cottage, which was followed by a 2-1 loss to Birmingham City at St. Andrews last Saturday. The two losses saw Luton slip down to 19th in the table, lingering just two points above the relegation places.
However, before the two away defeats, the Hatters had thrashed play-off candidates Bristol City 3-0 at Kenilworth Road, a result which surprised Championship neutrals and demonstrated the attacking flair Luton had illustrated last season.
Luton are clearly harder to beat at home, losing just two in front of their own fans compared to six losses when on the road. The problem for Graeme Jones’s side is their inability to keep out goals, conceding a massive 25 in 14 games ranks as the third worst defence in the league.
In their last two outings, Nottingham Forest came away pointless with an away loss to Wigan Athletic and a home defeat to ten-man Hull City. Before that however, the Reds hadn’t loss since an opening day defeat to league leaders West Bromwich Albion.
The appointment of Lamouchi over the summer raised a few eyebrows from Championship fans, with the Frenchman’s lack of experience in England clearly leading to questions as to whether he was the right man for the job. Yet a quarter of the way into the season Forest fans are behind the manager and have a renewed excitement that their side could find themselves in the top six in May.
Although it was only recently Forest had their unbeaten run cut short, Lamouchi’s men sit 10th in the table, albeit with a game in hand on the clubs above.
What to Expect
Forest’s possession away from home averages out at 42%, thus favouring a counter-attacking style when on the road. Luton’s home possessions sits at 50%, demonstrating neither submission or dominance when in front of their own fans.
As previously mentioned, Luton have been far from secure defensively and Forest have scored in all but one of their games this season. In addition, both sides are averaging above ten shots per-game, it’s unlikely a 0-0 is on the cards here.
Star Men
Izzy Brown is currently on his sixth loan spell away from parent club Chelsea and looks to be putting an injury ridden spell behind him under the management of Greame Jones. Brown has assisted five so far this season, the most in the league, and his creative flair is flourishing following on from an unsuccessful year at Leeds United last season.
Luton’s top goal scorer is front man James Collins. Collins joined the Hatters the year of promotion from League Two, bagging 19 in the fourth tier before scoring 25 in the league above. He’s found the net five times in the Championship so far, whilst also scoring on his Republic of Ireland debut back in September.
In Collins and Brown, Forest will have to stay solid at the back to keep out a potent pair of attackers.
Whilst the away side hold the obvious attacking threat of poacher Lewis Grabban and goal scoring winger Joe Lolley, it’s the men at the back who have earned the plaudits this season.
The poor early season form of on loan Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric meant the Kosovan international was dropped, resulting in Brice Samba stepping in after signing from Caen in the summer. Samba has been crucial in his nine games between the sticks, averaging over four saves a game and keeping three clean sheets for the Reds.
Also important for Forest this season has been the form of home-grown centre-mid turned right back Matty Cash. With over 100 appearances in Nottingham and still only 22, Cash has become a cult hero at The City Ground, with his versatility and work rate endearing the fans.
Cash boasts two goals and two assists from right back this season, whilst making over two tackles and three clearance per game. Cash has made the right back slot his own, combining fast-flowing forward movement with solid defensive work, epitomising the modern full-back role.