Championship | Gameweek 31

Feb 19, 2025 at 7.45pm UK

Kenilworth Road Stadium

Luton vs Plymouth

Match preview

Six games into the Matt Bloomfield era at Kenilworth Road, Luton Town are still without a win in their pursuit of Championship safety (D2 L4), and Wednesday night's hosts are in serious danger of dropping from the heights of the Premier League to the depths of League One in just two seasons.

The Hatters are on a 10-match unbeaten run in the second tier after a disappointing afternoon on Saturday, when a solitary strike from Sheffield United's Anel Ahmedhodzic sealed maximum points for Chris Wilder's promotion-chasing Blades in a battle in Bedfordshire.

Luton set an unwanted club record by going four games without finding the net at Kenilworth Road, with their last celebration in front of their home fans coming on December 20, when Rob Edwards' men claimed two points in a narrow victory over fellow strugglers Derby County.

With just one point from their last five games in the second tier, the Hatters are currently languishing at the foot of the Championship table after 32 sobering games, three points behind Ruben Selles' Hull City in the relative safety of 21st place.

With just 30 Championship goals to their name, Bloomfield's men are the lowest scorers in the division at this stage, despite boasting a number of talented attackers who impressed in the Premier League last season, including Carlton Morris, Elijah Adebayo and Tahith Chong.

In the words of popular head coach Miron Muslic, Plymouth Argyle took a "small step backwards" in their quest for Championship safety in Lancashire on Saturday afternoon when a familiar face turned up at Ewood Park to cause Blackburn Rovers plenty of pain.

Just days after being released from his contract at Home Park, midfielder Adam Forshaw scored his first competitive goal for nine years to send the Pilgrims packing in the second tier, while danger man Tyrhys Dolan also found the net for Rovers, who have won both their games since the departure of John Eustace to Derby.

After a promising three-match unbeaten run in the second tier, during which they picked up seven valuable points, Plymouth's defeat at Blackburn at the weekend means they remain in the bottom three of the Championship ahead of a midweek trip to Luton, two points behind Hull in 21st.

The Green Army are notoriously poor on the road in the second tier, with the Pilgrims going winless in their 16 league games away from home this season, picking up four points and scoring just five times.

However, there have been some notable results for Muslic's men in recent times, including a draw at the home of promotion-chasing Sunderland, victories over Millwall and West Bromwich Albion at Home Park, and a remarkable fourth-round FA Cup win over Liverpool.

Recent Performance

Luton Town Championship form:DLLDLL

Plymouth Argyle Championship form:LLDWWL

Plymouth Argyle form (all competitions):LDWWWL

Team News

Luton will be without a number of their first-choice defenders, including Teden Mengi, who has not featured for the Hatters since the end of November.

The hosts will be without the services of former Manchester United and Birmingham City striker Chong due to a niggling hamstring problem.

Plymouth suffered another injury blow in their defeat at Blackburn at the weekend when in-form striker Ryan Hardie was forced off with a back problem.

The Scotland striker joins Brendan Galloway (hip) and Joe Edwards (hamstring) in the Pilgrims' medical room, with the former ruled out for the remainder of the campaign.

While Plymouth await the results of a scan on Hardie's back problem, Michael Baidoo will be hoping for a promotion from the bench on Wednesday night.

Possible starting lineup

Luton Town possible starting lineup:

Kaminski; Naismith, McGuinness, Bell; Jones, Walsh, Nakamba, Aasgaard, Doughty; Morris, Brown

Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:

Hazard; Talovierov, Katic, Palsson; Sorinola, Randell, Houghton, Puchacz; Baidoo, Wright, Bundu