Team news for Luton is fairly straightforward. Anyone still standing will probably get a game, although to be fair the situation has picked up in recent weeks. Last week saw Drew Talbot and Kevin Nicholls being given brief run outs, so there is a possibility of both being involved in the squad for Saturday. Harford will probably opt for Chris Martin and Kevin Gallen or Wayne Andrews up front though, however fit Talbot is, with Drew maybe making an appearance on the bench. According to some sources, George Pilkington might be given a run out, although I thought he was out for much longer than that, as well as Lewis Emanuel. Either way, with both players short of match fitness, Mick will probably opt to keep both players out the first-team, with one of them possibly on the bench if they really are fit enough. The same source also claimed that Kevin Nicholson could feature for us, look forward to seeing him play with Kevin Nicholls. Sol Davis made the bench last week, so he could return to action at left-back this week. Conrad Logan is almost certain to be in goal, Keith Keane will play at right-back and Gnakpa in right midfield, with Spillane one of the two central defenders, other than that it is difficult to guess who is playing where. It's also difficult to make a prediction, as you never know which Luton team will turn up. Unfortunately in recent weeks, the disorganised Luton has turned up instead of the team that turned up in the first half at Bury and Walsall, for example.
As for the visitors, according to other sources, Liam Feeney could sign on loan for the Daggers before tomorrow, or they might have to wait until next week, so who knows? Wesley Thomas could return from injury to feature, with the young striker only featuring in one game for Dagenham so far. Other than that, manager John Still doesn't have any injury worries, although I saw a preview of Luton's match last week that said we had no injury worries, so you shouldn't pay too much attention to what us website reporters have to say. Looking at the Daggers' squad list, it's fair to say that there won't be any names that stand out to Luton fans, although Paul Benson and Ben Strevens have both been in good form with 7 league goals each this season, so they clearly should be watched. Sam Saunders has also chipped in with 6 league goals.
This season is the second season that Dagenham & Redbridge have been in League Two, having won the Conference in the 2006-07 season, finishing 14 points clear of Oxford United and Morecambe on that occasion. Last season was less successful, with Dagenham finishing 20th with 49 points, but they finished seven points clear of the bottom two, which they probably would have settled for at the start of the season. So far this season, they have almost picked up half the number of points they managed all of last season, with 24 points already to their name after a good start to the season. The two clubs have actually met twice before, despite Dagenham only recently earning promotion to the Football League. The first occasion was in the Paint Pot thingy, when it was sponsored by someone else, and when Conference teams were allowed into the competition. Luton travelled to Dagenham in 2001 and lost 3-2 after extra time. Dean Brennan and Peter Thomson scored the Luton goals apparently, so I'm guessing that we didn't put the first team out that day. Last season also saw Luton playing in a cup competition at Dagenham, only this time Luton were the first ever opponents for Dagenham & Redbridge in the League Cup. Matthew Spring scored a first-half penalty and Drew Talbot saw his shot deflected in to see Luton through to the Second Round, despite Ben Strevens giving the home side some hope. The main memory I have of that game is getting soaked on the terraces. Luton have never beaten Dagenham at Kenilworth Road.