Luton face defensive crisis

Do our hopes of victory at Brentford lie with Keith Keane?

Marcus Heikkinen, Leon Barnett and Kevin Foley are the only fully fit defenders who are available for selection tomorrow, and Heikkinen is apparently tired after missing the two week break that the rest of the players got due to him being on international duty with Finland. Sol Davis picked up a groin injury in the Cardiff defeat on Saturday and was replaced by Chris Coyne in the first half. Coyne then suffered a recurrence of an earlier injury so he is likely to be out as well. Normally, Paul Underwood or Lewis Emanuel would drop back to cover for Sol, but Underwood is still having incredibly bad luck with an infection and Lewis got sent off against Cardiff and will miss the match through suspension. Perrett is also out, so there is no centre-half cover for Barnett or Heikkinen.

This means that the line up for the Brentford clash could be an interesting one. Newell may decide to rotate the midfield around and rest key players who have started most matches this season. Carlos Edwards may be forced to drop back to left-back to cover for Sol, meaning Brko will get only his second match this season on the right. Alternatively, Keith Keane (pictured) or Chris Pendleton may come into the side. Pendleton I know nothing about, but if Keith Keane starts then we'll need serious help. According to Brian Stein, we should still field a strong side tomorrow, but at the moment I'm pessimistic about our chances.