Luton Town and Norwich City are currently preparing to compete in the same division for the first time since 2006/07, but before they meet in the Championship, they have a Carabao Cup tie to attend to.
For large parts of last season, it looked like the Hatters were heading back to League One, but the return of Nathan Jones as manager changed their fortunes. They suffered just one defeat from their final nine league matches post-lockdown and finished the campaign safe of the drop in 19th place.
On the other hand, Norwich were relegated from the Premier League with a whimper last term. Their own form after the three-month break was terrible; they scored just one goal and lost all nine games, meaning they ended the campaign sitting rock-bottom on a final total of 21 points. If Daniel Farke’s men are to be successful this year, a strong start will be essential, as Project Restart needs to be removed from their memories.
Both teams come into the game having enjoyed short but successful pre-season campaigns. Luton won all four of their friendlies, most recently earning a 3-0 triumph over Northampton Town, while the Canaries were victorious in four of their five matches, and conceded just two goals across all outings.
Whilst results in the league are ultimately the priority, both clubs have won this competition in the past, so progression to the next round would surely be welcomed by either side.
Team news
The Hatters will be without goalkeeper Simon Sluga and new signing Tom Lockyer for this clash, as they are away on international duty with Croatia and Wales respectively. Full-back Dan Potts is also expected to miss out with a minor injury.
Meanwhile, Norwich have been majorly affected by the ongoing international break. 13 of their first-team players are currently away with their countries, including both senior goalkeepers, meaning that 19-year-old Daniel Barden looks set to make his professional debut between the sticks.
City will also have to do without Emi Buendia and Josip Drmic, who are suspended, as well as injured defenders Grant Hanley and Sam Byram. Thankfully for Daniel Farke, the Canaries have a fairly large squad, so they should be able to field a recognisable starting XI.
Predicted line-ups
Luton: Shea; Kioso, Cranie, Bradley, Norrington-Davies; Rea, Berry; Clark, Moncur, Cornick; Collins.
Norwich: Barden; Mumba, Zimmermann, Klose, Quintilla; Tettey, Vrancic; Dowell, Stiepermann, Martin; Hugill.
Previous meetings
These two sides have not met in a competitive fixture since January 2013, when they were drawn together in the fourth round of the FA Cup. At the time, Norwich were a Premier League club and the Hatters were four divisions below them in the Conference Premier (now known as the National League), so the Canaries were understandably huge favourites ahead of the match.
However, Luton pulled off an almighty shock by winning 1-0 at Carrow Road, with striker Scott Rendell netting the only goal. It is worth noting that a young Harry Kane started in attack for Norwich on the day in the last appearance of his loan stint from Tottenham Hotspur, whilst current Watford forward Andre Gray led the line for the Hatters.
Saturday’s game will mark only the second time that the two clubs have met in the League Cup. The Canaries were 2-0 victors at Kenilworth Road on the first occasion, which took place in October 1985.
Ones to watch
James Collins
Since signing for Luton in the summer of 2017, James Collins has played a vital role as the club have risen through the divisions. Over the last three seasons, the striker has made 132 league appearances and has scored 58 goals in total.
Now aged 29, Collins is likely to remain as the Hatters’ leading frontman for the next couple of years as they look to establish themselves as a Championship club.
Standing at 6’2” tall, he could cause the Canaries some serious problems, particularly at set pieces where they appeared to be fairly vulnerable last term.
Kieran Dowell
Norwich have made a total of ten new signings so far this summer, and the addition of Kieran Dowell will likely have stood out in particular to many Canaries supporters.
The 22-year-old joined the club from Everton in late July for an undisclosed fee and boasts a good amount of experience in the English second-tier for a player of his age. Dowell has had previous loan spells in the Championship with four different clubs; Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United (who he helped win promotion), Derby County and Wigan Athletic.
During his most recent loan stint with the Latics, the attacking midfielder showed a clinical edge in front of goal as he netted five times in 12 league appearances. Norwich will hope that Dowell can make a similar impact in yellow and green, starting in Bedfordshire on Saturday.
Pre-match comments
Prior to the start of the new season, Luton manager Nathan Jones has spoken of the strong belief he has in his group of players.
He said: “We have gone away, had a couple of weeks and we believe we are in a much better place than where we were.
"The end of last season we finished well and we’re in a better position squad wise, fitness wise and everything, so there is a real excitement about us and now we have to build it up and make sure that we get points on the board and that we are not in a final game survival bid like we were last year.”
Meanwhile, despite having to face the Hatters without a large number of regular first-team players, Norwich head coach Daniel Farke is expecting a good performance from his side.
He told the Eastern Daily Press: “Everyone knows how much the cups mean to me and I treat them with the same priority as the league. That is my attitude. I am not sure how many players Luton are missing but not as many as us.
“It will be difficult to judge our team. We will get a team that will be a mix of first team and under-23 players but whoever represents Norwich City will go out and show pride and dignity.
“We still want to go into the next round.”
How to watch
This game is not on TV but is available to watch on either ‘iFollow Hatters’ or ‘iFollow Norwich’, with a match pass costing £10.
The kick-off time is 15:00pm GMT.
