Preview | Luton Town (H)
The Game
Argyle v Luton Town. Home Park. Friday, 27 September. 8pm. Sky Bet Championship.
The Opposition
Luton Town were relegated last season from the Premier League, having spent their first year in the top flight since 1992. Their response to going down was a slow one, but having won their last two games, it feels like momentum is back with the Hatters again.
Luton began with a home game against fellow relegated side Burnley and lost 4-1 to the Clarets. They followed with a goalless draw at Portsmouth, then a 1-0 defeat at Preston North End, before playing Queens Park Rangers twice in succession. In the first encounter, in the Carabao Cup, QPR won after a penalty shoot-out following a 1-1 draw, then in the league the Hoops won 2-1 at Kenilworth Road.
Luton broke their winning duck with a victory at Millwall, Teden Mengi scoring the game’s only goal. Then, last Saturday, Town found themselves 1-0 down at home to Sheffield Wednesday before the Owls had a man sent off, and Luton turned things around via a Carlton Morris double to win 2-1.
The Gaffer
Rob Edwards had a relatively short playing career, retiring at 30, with his most notable spell as a player coming at Wolverhampton Wanderers, for whom he made 111 appearances. After stints with the likes of Blackpool and Barnsley, he hung up his boots and then became the Under-18s manager at Wolves, rising to become a coach and a caretaker manager.
He left to become the manager of Telford United, then returned to take the Under-23s job at Wolves, before moving to a job with the Football Association.
In 2021, Edwards was named as Forest Green Rovers Head Coach and won promotion in his first – and only – season with the Gloucestershire club. He left in the summer of 2022 for Watford but lasted only 10 games before being dismissed by the notoriously trigger-happy Hornets.
In November 2022, Edwards joined Watford’s rivals Luton, and was soon a promotion-winner once more, as Luton got to the Premier League via the play-offs.
The Squad
Only three players have started all six league games for Luton so far this season. One is Elijah Adebayo, who is yet to score this term, but scored 10 times last season in the Premier League for Luton. He began his career with Fulham, and had several loans away from West London, before moving permanently to Walsall. Two seasons later, he became a Hatter.
Tahith Chong (below) is off the mark for the season, having scored Luton’s first goal of the season, although it was in a 4-1 defeat by Burnley. Born in Curacao, a constituent country of the Netherlands, Chong spent his formative years with Feyenoord, then moved to Manchester United aged 16. He played 16 times for the Red Devils, mostly in cup ties, and had loans away with Werder Bremen, Club Brugge and Birmingham City. He signed for the latter on a permanent basis, spending the 2022/23 season with the Blues, then signing for Luton in the summer of 2023.
Wing-back Alfie Doughty is the final Luton ever-present for the season so far. The 24-year-old came through the ranks at Charlton Athletic, played 41 times for the Addicks, then moved to Stoke City. He never truly broke in at Stoke, and had a loan with Cardiff City, but it was at Luton, where he arrived in the summer of 2022, that his career took off. Doughty played 28 league games in Luton’s 2022/23 promotion season, then all but one game in the Premier League last term.
Recent Meetings
The last time Argyle and Luton met was in the 2018/19 season, in League One, with Luton winning 5-1 at Kenilworth Road, and the game at Home Park ending 0-0.
Tickets
The game is sold out for home supporters. If you have a season ticket and cannot attend the match, you can make your ticket available via the Ticket Exchange and receive face value credit if your ticket is resold. Find out more about the Ticket Exchange.
Argyle TV
Argyle TV’s coverage will begin at 7.30pm with the pre-match show, hosted by Erin Black and Ian Stonebridge live on YouTube. Commentary for the game will be provided by Charlie Price and Katie Middleton.
Match passes to watch this game are available to international audiences and can be purchased here.
Sky Sports
The game will be screened live on Sky Sports Football.
