As we get ready to wind our clocks back this weekend, let’s hope Saturday’s abysmal showing isn’t a forecast for a dark winter ahead. Before that, Luton are in ‘Town’ tonight and will be looking to build on a steady start to life in the Championship, coming off the back of a very impressive 3-0 victory over Bristol City (who were unbeaten since the second game of the season!) Meanwhile, Fulham are currently 10th, finding consistency very hard to come by.
But will Scotty be in ‘wonderland’ come 10pm or will we all go home ‘mad’ thanks to the Hatters? One thing is for certain, someone better inform the rabbit because whatever happens, Fulham are turning up late for this promotion race!
Head To Head
- Fulham Wins 28 | Draws 7 | Luton Wins 22
- Fulham’s last home win against Luton was a 1-0 victory back in 1978.
- The biggest winning margin in this fixture came in the first ever meeting back in 1908. Fulham winning the FA Cup tie 8-3.
- This is our first meeting with Luton Town in the new millennium.
- In 57 meetings, there have only been two goalless draws.
Luton Town – 2019/20
- Position: 16th
- League Form: WLDWL
- 2 out of their 4 league wins have come away from home.
- The Hatters have lost all but one of their games played against teams in the top half of the table. The exception being their impressive 3-0 victory over Bristol City at the weekend.
- This result was also their first league clean sheet of the season.
- They’ve conceded first in 8 out of 12 league matches so far this season.
- 40% of their goals have come from set-pieces.
- Average possession: 50%
- Top Scorer: James Collins (5), Harry Cornick (4)
Players in Common
Ryan Tunnicliffe
Fulham: 66 appearances, 2 goals (2014-17)
Luton Town: 12 appearances (2019-present)
Jimmy Allen, Bobby Brennan, Mick Brown, Viv Busby, David Button, Iain Dowie, John Dreyer, Sean Farrell, Vic Halom, Duncan Jupp, Malcolm Macdonald, Chris Martin, Alfie Mawson, Alan Neilson, Mark Pembridge, Paul Peschisolido, Bjorn Runstrom, John Ryan, Tony Thorpe, Ryan Tunnicliffe, Mark Walton, Robert Wilson & Cauley Woodrow.
Score Prediction Panel
Les Strong: Fulham 2-0 Luton
Robert Wilson: Fulham 3-0 Luton
Collins John: Fulham 3-1 Luton
Matt’s View
Both teams shocked the league in different ways this past weekend with us being favourites, but losing 2-0 away at Stoke, while Luton overcame the odds and dominated Bristol City 3-0. Faith may have been temporarily lost in Scott Parker after gambling with our formation by setting up with 3 at the back, who were significantly exposed on route one balls. While we did the usual and maintained high possession and pass accuracy, we also struggled to our shots on frame. It’s time for the likes of Bobby Reid and Anthony Knockaert to prove their worth as they’ve been on a downward spiral, both being in position to impact the game and both unable to make a difference. If Parker were to gamble with the 3-back formation again, I would hope he would find a way for Johansen to take part as he is our creative force and can produce the variety we need to balance the predictable strategy that can make it easier for teams to defend against us. Luton are riding a high after their victory, and are boasting a full-strength squad. We may have underestimated Stoke, for some reason, so it will be vital to not do the same at home against Luton. I think that Parker will wake the boys up enough that we’ll get a clean sheet to reestablish our ground. 3-0 Fulham. COYW!
