Match Previews

Match Preview | Luton Town vs Wolves

The Hatters are set to host Wolverhampton Wanderers at Kenilworth Road in the Premier League this Saturday in pursuit of their first points of the season.

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Rob Edwards’ side have shown progression across their first four Premier League fixtures with no points to show for it so far.

Gary O’Neil’s Wolves have won just one of their first five Premier League games this season, losing their last fixture at home to Liverpool.

The opposition

Wolves had a disrupted pre-season when the club parted company with previous manager Julen Lopetegui six days before their Premier League opener against Manchester United.

O’Neil has come in to replace the former Spain manager after keeping AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League last season.

South Korean forward Hwang Hee-chan has scored in three of Wolves’ five Premier League games this season, while Portuguese winger Pedro Neto has four assists and sits joint-top of the Premier League assists table.

This is the first top-flight fixture between these two sides since the 1983/84 season, with the Hatters winning both games.

Words from Rob

“We want to get points on the board, being at home in-front of our supporters we recognise that these are the best opportunities for us to get that going.

“We’ve had a really positive week after a better performance from us against Fulham and showed more progression.

“It will be a different performance, at home we want to be a different team so we really want to engage our fans, get them involved in the game as well, we know how big a part they can play in it. Hopefully we can bounce off each other and make it a really good day.”

Watch The Preview with Rob Edwards ahead of our fixture against Wolves...

Last meeting

Luton Town produced one of the great FA Cup upsets when the non-league Hatters overcame Championship side Wolves in 2013.

Alex Lawless’ volley at the start of the second half was the difference as Town advanced to the fourth round, where they became the first non-league side to beat a Premier League side when they defeated Norwich City.

Last time out

The Hatters narrowly fell to their fourth defeat of the Premier League season when they visited Craven Cottage last Saturday against Fulham.

Carlos Vinicius gave Fulham the lead in the second half after missed opportunities to break the deadlock from Jacob Brown and Amari’i Bell.

Team news

Rob Edwards confirmed that midfielder Ross Barkley will not be available for selection against Wolves.

The 29-year-old was not involved in our defeat at Fulham with a slight hamstring injury, however Luton’s number six is back in training.

The other Hatters players who are set to miss out are Gabe Osho, Jordan Clark and Dan Potts who have been injured since pre-season.

Officials

The referee for our fixture against Wolves will be Josh Smith.

Smith has taken charge of seven games this season, six of which have been Championship fixtures, handing out 23 yellow cards and zero red cards.

Luton Town last had a game ran by Smith in April 2023 when the Hatters defeated Watford in the Championship at Kenilworth Road.

Referee: Josh Smith

Assistant Referees: Edward Smith & Nick Greenhalgh

Fourth Official: Peter Bankes

VAR: John Brookes

AVAR: Akil Howson

Fan information

We would like to remind supporters to arrive at the game as early as possible to ease congestion around the stadium, at the Ticket Office and the turnstiles.

There will be additional road closures around Kenilworth Road on home matchdays, starting this Saturday.

Our neighbours Madinah Mosque will hold its annual Open Day to coincide with the Visit My Mosque national initiative.

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