The State of Play
Luton Town endured a genuinely gut-wrenching loss in midweek as they fell to defeat on the south coast against AFC Bournemouth. Once again a valiant display, the Hatters went into the half-time interval with a 3-0 lead at the Vitality Stadium but an Antoine Semenyo brace inspired a turnaround to give Bournemouth a 4-3 victory in that match and keep Luton in the bottom three and the relegation places.
They are in the bottom three for now but a victory would move them above their upcoming opponents Nottingham Forest on goal difference on Saturday afternoon. Nuno Espirito Santo’s visitors also have the looming concern of a potential points penalty to worry about, too. They come into this on the back of being edged out by a goal to nil at Brighton and Hove Albion, which was their third successive loss in the Premier League.
Team News
Rob Edwards would have every right to bemoan bad luck for Luton with so many availability issues as the likes of Mads Andersen, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Elijah Adebayo all remain injured.
Nuno Tavares and Gonzalo Montiel are not expected to be fit until after the international break, whilst Ola Aina and Gio Reyna are also major doubts for Forest this weekend.
Expected Line-ups
Luton Town: Kaminski; Burke, Mengi, Hashioka; Kabore, Clark, Barkley, Doughty; Ogbene, Chong; Morris
Nottingham Forest: Sels; Williams, Omobamidele, Murillo, Toffolo; Yates, Danilo, Dominguez; Origi, Wood, Hudson-Odoi
What they Said
Rob Edwards took the blame for Luton’s collapse in midweek for not reacting quickly enough and he said his Hatters side just could not cope with the ‘barrage’ from Bournemouth.
Nuno Espirito Santo once again lambasted officials last weekend after their defeat to Brighton with the former Wolves boss saying ‘why always us’ in a post-match rant at the AMEX Stadium with regards to perceived poor decision-making.
When and How to Watch
This match will be played at Kenilworth Road at 15:00 on Saturday March 16th and will not be televised live in the UK. It will therefore not be able to be streamed live, either.
Prediction
What we could have in store for us at Kenilworth Road is the first real, true relegation nail-biter and dog fight as Luton look to lift themselves out of the bottom three. On so many occasions this season they have been so near and yet so far with valiant displays no longer enough and victories required. Nottingham Forest aren’t necessarily a fun team to watch under Nuno but they will surely be eyeing this up as a major chance for a win and both teams scoring would seem likely as they both attack from the outset sensing an opportunity.
