Team News
Luton
The main selection problem for Luton will come with the fitness of winger David Bell. Bell was substituted during the match against Yeovil because of a rib injury, and it is thought that he may not make the team for Saturday's clash with Doncaster. Bell may also miss the match against Gillingham in the Mickey Mouse Trophy, which is hardly as important. As Bell has been one of the best players so far this season, and certainly one of the main goal threats, this is a very big blow for Kevin Blackwell. However, he will be happier with the return of Paul Furlong. Furlong was suspended after getting sent off for a second bookable offence last week at Huddersfield, and will probably return to the starting line-up for the match on Saturday. Sam Parkin, Paul Underwood and Richard Langley are still a long way away from being ready for first-team matches, and Paul Peschisolido should also miss the Doncaster match because of injury. There may be a place in the squad for Keith Keane, who is recovering well from an injury.
After Saturday's defeat against Huddersfield, Blackwell made a few changes to the team, and this resulted in us dominating Yeovil but not converting any chances, missing an opportunity to take our first win of the season. However, the team did at least not concede a goal, so it is likely that he will pick the same defence, with Chris Perry playing at full-back and Fojut and Coyne in the centre. David Bell's injury picked up in midweek may complicate matters a little bit. Matthew Spring, Steve Robinson and David Edwards should all keep their places in the team, and Darren Currie could play with Dean Morgan on the wing should Bell miss out. Up front will probably be Paul Furlong on his own after Calvin failed to make an impact on Tuesday night in a similar lone striker position.
Doncaster
Doncaster will definitely be without Lewis Guy for the match at Kenilworth Road, as the 22 year-old striker was sent off last week against Walsall and is now suspended for the trip. Guy has scored four times already this season for Doncaster and will certainly be a big loss for Sean O'Driscoll's team. Former Notts County striker Paul Heffernan is also likely to miss the match on Saturday because of an injury, as well as former Brentford player Mark McCammon. Jason Price is struggling for the Yorkshire side with an Achilles injury.
In a similar fashion to Luton, Doncaster have had a topsy-turvy start to the season, and are currently in 16th place in the table, just one place ahead of Luton on goal difference. Donny have lost their last two away matches, although unlike Luton they have actually won away from home, with a victory against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium. Their last game was a disappointment, with Donny suffering a defeat at home against Walsall after going into half-time 2-1 up. They also had striker Lewis Guy sent off, and considering that he has scored in the last three matches, he is likely to be a very big loss to Doncaster, possibly balanced out by the injury to David Bell.
Connections
The most notable player to have played for both teams from a Doncaster point of view could be young Scottish winger Michael McIndoe. McIndoe played 39 games for Luton in two seasons before moving to Hereford in 2000. In 2003, he ended up at Doncaster after a move from Yeovil. McIndoe played 122 games for Doncaster and scored 28 times. He made a name for himself in the 2005-06 season, when he scored against Aston Villa and Arsenal in the Carling Cup on an impressive cup run for Doncaster. He then moved on to Barnsley after leaving Doncaster before ending up at Bristol City where he is currently. Less notable for playing for both clubs is Slovenian goalkeeper Dino Seremet, who had a loan spell at Donny whilst at
Luton. He didn't impress enough to make them sign a permanent contract with Doncaster. Former England and Chelsea striker Kerry Dixon has also notably played for both clubs. Dixon started his career with Dunstable FC in 1979, and moved to his hometown club Luton in 1993 after playing for Reading and Chelsea. He made 75 appearances for Luton, scoring 19 goals, before moving to Millwall. After an unsuccessful spell at Watford, he went to Doncaster in the 1996-97 season, where he was Doncaster's player-manager, scoring three times in sixteen appearances. A player with an identical record to Dixon's in 1999-2000 was Mike Newell, who of course went on to manage Luton with considerable success after being a player in the 80's.
Past Meetings
Luton definitely have the edge over Doncaster Rovers in past meetings between the two clubs. They have met each other 20 times, all in the league,
with Luton winning 10 out of the 20 matches. Doncaster have won 6 times and there has been a draw 4 times. The last time that Luton played Doncaster was in May 2005, a couple of weeks after Luton had clinched the League One title at Wrexham. On that occasion, an exciting match between the two teams ended in a 3-3 draw, which meant Luton ended with a highest ever points tally of 98 but missed out on picking up 100 points. Lewis Guy put Doncaster ahead in the very first minute, but goals from Russell Perrett and Steve Howard put Luton ahead before half-time. After a useless goal-kick from Dino Seremet in the second-half that was bizarrely taken back to his own area by the wind, Doncaster equalised with a Steve Robinson own goal. Kevin Nicholls scored a spectacular third for Luton, but Lewis Guy notched his second of the game minutes later to secure a deserved point for Rovers.
The last Luton home game came after a four match winning run for the Hatters that was ended at the hands of Rovers. Kevin Nicholls put Luton ahead after an hour with a sublime free-kick, but Neil Roberts equalised for Rovers in the last ten minutes to give Doncaster a point. For a more detailed look on past meetings between the two sides, click here.
Prediction
I'm feeling pretty confident about us taking something from the game on Saturday, mainly because we seem to play well at home, or at least win at home. Away is our problem at the moment, so I think we will win tomorrow 2-1, with the team letting in a late goal to give us something to worry about.
Luton
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After Saturday's defeat against Huddersfield, Blackwell made a few changes to the team, and this resulted in us dominating Yeovil but not converting any chances, missing an opportunity to take our first win of the season. However, the team did at least not concede a goal, so it is likely that he will pick the same defence, with Chris Perry playing at full-back and Fojut and Coyne in the centre. David Bell's injury picked up in midweek may complicate matters a little bit. Matthew Spring, Steve Robinson and David Edwards should all keep their places in the team, and Darren Currie could play with Dean Morgan on the wing should Bell miss out. Up front will probably be Paul Furlong on his own after Calvin failed to make an impact on Tuesday night in a similar lone striker position.
Doncaster
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In a similar fashion to Luton, Doncaster have had a topsy-turvy start to the season, and are currently in 16th place in the table, just one place ahead of Luton on goal difference. Donny have lost their last two away matches, although unlike Luton they have actually won away from home, with a victory against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium. Their last game was a disappointment, with Donny suffering a defeat at home against Walsall after going into half-time 2-1 up. They also had striker Lewis Guy sent off, and considering that he has scored in the last three matches, he is likely to be a very big loss to Doncaster, possibly balanced out by the injury to David Bell.
Connections
The most notable player to have played for both teams from a Doncaster point of view could be young Scottish winger Michael McIndoe. McIndoe played 39 games for Luton in two seasons before moving to Hereford in 2000. In 2003, he ended up at Doncaster after a move from Yeovil. McIndoe played 122 games for Doncaster and scored 28 times. He made a name for himself in the 2005-06 season, when he scored against Aston Villa and Arsenal in the Carling Cup on an impressive cup run for Doncaster. He then moved on to Barnsley after leaving Doncaster before ending up at Bristol City where he is currently. Less notable for playing for both clubs is Slovenian goalkeeper Dino Seremet, who had a loan spell at Donny whilst at
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Past Meetings
Luton definitely have the edge over Doncaster Rovers in past meetings between the two clubs. They have met each other 20 times, all in the league,
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The last Luton home game came after a four match winning run for the Hatters that was ended at the hands of Rovers. Kevin Nicholls put Luton ahead after an hour with a sublime free-kick, but Neil Roberts equalised for Rovers in the last ten minutes to give Doncaster a point. For a more detailed look on past meetings between the two sides, click here.
Prediction
I'm feeling pretty confident about us taking something from the game on Saturday, mainly because we seem to play well at home, or at least win at home. Away is our problem at the moment, so I think we will win tomorrow 2-1, with the team letting in a late goal to give us something to worry about.