Luton Town

Luton Town make their final bid to escape relegation when they visit West Bromwich Albion on Saturday (12:30 BST).

The Hatters are hovering just one point above the drop zone with an unhealthy goal difference.

However, they are ending the season strong under boss Matt Bloomfield, having won their past three game with the latest two against teams currently in play-off positions; Bristol City and Coventry City.

It means they are unlikely to be intimidated by Albion, who are winless in three to see them out of a play-off contending position.

• West Brom have lost just one of their last nine league games against Luton Town (W5 D3), a 2-0 away defeat in February 2022.

• Luton Town have failed to win any of their last four away league games against West Brom (D1 L3) and overall have won just two of their last 20 (D3 L15).

• West Brom have won two of their last three games on the final day of a league season (L1), as many victories as across their prior 16 such fixtures between 2006 and 2021 combined (D7 L7).

• Luton have failed to win any of their last seven away Football League games that have fallen on the final day of a league campaign (D3 L4), since a 2-0 victory over Shrewsbury Town in the fourth tier in 2002.

• Luton have scored the fewest goals of any Championship side so far this season (42), though they have netted 11 of those strikes from corners – a joint-league tally alongside Coventry City, Derby County, Leeds and QPR.

Image source, Rex Features

Former Luton Town manager David Pleat says cool heads could be the key to Championship survival at West Brom on Saturday.

Matt Bloomfield's Hatters finally climbed out of the relegation places by beating Coventry City last weekend, making it three wins in a row, and will retain their Championship status if they match or better Hull City's result.

They are level on points with Preston North End and Derby County, the two teams immediately above them, but have an inferior goal difference compared to both.

Pleat famously danced across the pitch at Maine Road after Luton avoided relegation from the top flight in 1983 by beating Manchester City 1-0.

"You've certainly got to keep the players calm, they mustn't get over-excited because the worst thing that can happen in any game of this magnitude is getting a player sent off or too hyped up that he reacts in a different way to what he would do normally," he told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"They must try to get the ascendancy in the first 20 minutes to quieten the home crowd because the last home game of the season, for any team, is important - a home win gets the supporters thinking about their season tickets.

"West Brom will want to play well in their last game and Luton, they've had a good away record recently, in the last couple of weeks they've played with great spirit, real tenacity and I think it's possible for them to do it.

"Try and treat it as a game and not an occasion. It's difficult to get the right balance but I imagine they'll play a very similar team that's won the last three game and I'm pleased the boy (Liam) Walsh got his ban overturned so he'll be able to play, if selected."

Listen to the full David Pleat interview here.

"If you would have said that, three or four weeks ago, Preston are going to have to go to the last day of the season to get a result, you'd be like no, no chance," former Reading midfielder Jobi McAnuff tells the 72+ podcast.

McAnuff and Aaron Paul are joined by former Barnsley manager Darrell Clarke as they discuss the upcoming Championship relegation fight and who they think is most at risk.

For McAnuff, it's Hull City and Preston North End that "are in trouble".

Hull sacked former boss Liam Rosenior after finishing seventh in the Championship last season, but have struggled since his departure and are currently sitting in the bottom three, a point away from safety.

Meanwhile, Preston are among three teams just a point above and have been dragged into the relegation fight after a winless run of seven games - and it's the Lancashire side Clarke is most concerned about.

"I just think to myself, they've dropped off a cliff, they've got Bristol City away, I fancy Hull to get something at Portsmouth," Clarke said.

"Fratton Park is a difficult place to go to... but they are on holiday aren't they?"

Listen to the full episode and more on the Football Daily podcast.

Geoff Doyle
BBC 3CR sports editor

Image source, BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

So it's one final push for Luton Town.

A win at West Brom guarantees Championship football next season, a draw could be good enough and even defeat might not mean relegation if Hull slip up at Portsmouth.

Three wins out of three has helped put the Hatters in this situation as has the longer spell of decent form - one defeat in nine.

But it still always comes down to fine margins. On Saturday, at a tense Kenilworth Road what made Coventry goalkeeper Brad Collins inexplicably attempt to punch the ball 16 yards from his goalline with a minute to go?

And even after that misjudgement, how did Luis Binks not manage to clear Shandon Baptiste's resulting shot off the line? That's football.

Around 2,500 Luton fans will now head to The Hawthorns believing their side can pull off another great escape like they did 35 years ago at the Baseball Ground when Kingsley Black scored the winner against Derby and 42 years ago at Maine Road when Raddy Antic's goal led to David Pleat's famous jig.

Those were very special days as was the Championship survival five years ago when Luton looked doomed as Covid hit.

After the enforced break the Hatters produced similar form to this time around but the supporters didn't get the chance to celebrate the achievement.

It's in Luton's hands and if they do stay up the club should toast the success but then quickly analyse what went wrong this season in preparation for the next campaign.

Luton need to make best use of the final parachute payment money which gives them such an advantage over the majority of the other clubs.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Luton need to get the job done.

They come up against a West Brom side short of morale and confidence after missing out on the play-offs.

The atmosphere among the home supporters could be hostile after the previous match there saw them ship three to another relegation candidate Derby.

Luton fans don't want to worry about what's going on at Fratton Park. Take care of business against the Baggies, play as they have been doing for the past eight weeks and take all three points back to Bedfordshire.

If only it was that simple.

Commentary on West Brom v Luton Town is on BBC Three Counties Radio

Image source, Getty Images

After an injury-ravaged season, Luton Town's match-winner Shandon Baptiste says he is relieved to have given something back to the club.

The midfielder has only been able to start seven Championship matches so far this season, with a further nine appearances as a substitute, because of hamstring and calf injuries.

But Baptiste came off the bench to score a last-minute goal against Coventry on Saturday which lifted the Hatters out of the relegation zone with one game remaining.

"It's been a long old season for me and I'm just happy to be able to help the team in a way which was needed and that was with a goal," the 27-year-old told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"I'm happy to give that to the fans, my team-mates and the gaffer, because when I've been in the treatment room they're the guys who have been working and putting in the performances to get us to this point."

Baptiste was introduced as a 78th-minute substitute with the game against the Sky Blues goalless and capitalised on a defensive mix-up between goalkeeper Brad Collins and Liam Kitching to score the winner.

"It was a moment of two players thinking different things and I anticipated where the ball was going to land, I saw the open goal and I was glad to score and get the three points," he added.

Luton will finish the campaign at West Brom on Saturday (12:30 BST) knowing a win would guarantee their Championship status.

Image source, Getty Images

Boss Matt Bloomfield praised Luton Town's patience after Shandon Baptiste's 90th-minute goal earned a dramatic win over Coventry City in an eventful game that saw both side's finish with 10 men

The win moved the Hatters out of the bottom three with one game left to play.

"The industry we are involved in is going to throw so many challenges your way and you have to try and stay calm and think clearly," Bloomfield said.

"We had the momentum, we hit the post, their goalkeeper has made a couple of incredible saves, but the ball doesn't go in so there's a risk of frustration.

"All of those things go into the pot and for us to find a moment right at the end is incredibly pleasing.

"Shandon [Baptiste] is a boy who is really diligent about his work. I think he's a fantastic player and for him to have that moment after some of the disappointments he's had this year is fantastic."

Luton Town picked up a vital win over Bristol City last time out and will need to repeat their heroics against another play-off contender in Coventry City on Saturday (12:30 BST).

While Monday's victory wasn't enough to see them out of the bottom three, it did put the Hatters level on points with Derby County above them, giving them a possible shot of escaping the relegation zone this weekend.

But Coventry's play-off battle could also go down to the wire, with Middlesbrough in prime position to oust them from their sixth spot should they fail to pick up points at Kenilworth Road.

Having lost to bottom dwellers Plymouth Argyle in their previous match, the Sky Blues will be looking to stop a second successive defeat to a lower-table team just as much as Luton will be seeking a double upset at the top.

• Luton have lost just one of their last 10 league games against Coventry (W4 D5), though it was in the reverse fixture in October (3-2).

• Following their 3-2 win in October, Coventry are looking to complete their first league double over Luton since 2005-06.

• Luton have won consecutive league games for the first time since September. They last won three in a row in March 2023.

• Coventry have lost three of their last four away league games (D1), having won four in a row on the road before this.

• Haji Wright has scored five goals in his last seven Championship appearances, while he also scored Coventry's 90th minute winner against Luton in the reverse fixture.

Geoff Doyle
BBC 3CR sports editor

Image source, Getty Images

Two wins out of two over Easter has given Luton's chances of staying up a massive boost.

They know that if they beat Coventry on Saturday in the early kick-off they will be outside the relegation zone come the final day of the season with their nearest rivals Hull and Derby playing each other later that day. What an incentive. What a turnaround.

The Hatters went into the Good Friday match at Derby knowing that anything less than a win would almost certainly mean relegation. Luton dogged that one out and then they produced a fine performance on Easter Monday against Bristol City to achieve maximum points across the long weekend.

This is a different team to the side which struggled for the first six months of the season where the players had a touch of the Premier League prima donnas about them and a manager struggling to cope.

Matt Bloomfield has imposed his style on the team and brought a structure and shape required in the Championship. Most importantly he's offered clear and precise instructions and tactics.

It's absurdly simplistic; the players seem to know what they're doing now - what the plan is - whereas before they looked confused and at a loss as to why they were so off-form.

That malaise was allowed to deepen which led to further, wider problems. Poor attitudes, lack of motivation, lack of care, feeling sorry for themselves.

Bloomfield has addressed all that and gone back to basics. He also recognised immediately the unmotivated players weren't fit enough. It may have been a reason as well for so many muscle injuries Luton were picking up before he arrived. Stamina levels are much much better now.

Luton are still likely to need at least four points from their remaining two games and as we've seen with the Championship all season you can never predict results in this league.

Because of the other match, no matter what happens on Saturday it will go down to the final game next week for Luton. The job is not done yet but it looks a hell of a lot better than it has done for most of the season.

Commentary on Saturday from 12:00 BST on BBC Three Counties Radio