Luton Town

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Luton Town boss Matt Bloomfield was left both "proud" and "frustrated" after seeing his side fail to beat Middlesbrough in their scoreless Championship encounter at Kenilworth Road.

The Hatters seized control in a blistering start, finishing the game with 19 attempts on goal.

Boro managed just seven throughout, none of which were clear chances and they ended the match without an attempt on target to show for their efforts

"The performance was excellent," Bloomfield told BBC Three Counties Radio. "Some of the football we played and the chance creation was fantastic.

"I am very proud and we need to understand the quality of the opposition we played and how we have dominated the game. We should be celebrating a win.

"We came out of the traps quick. We played our formation incredibly well. Tactically the boys were spot on and they implemented what we discussed.

"There were top performances out there. We created chance after chance and played some very good football. It's incredibly frustrating we didn't take one.

"Defensively we were excellent. We limited Middlesbrough to very little and they are as good as we will play in the league. If we carry on playing like that we will pick up plenty of points."

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Luton Town are showing signs of recovery, according to boss Matt Bloomfield.

The Hatters have won two of their past three Championship matches to move within two points of safety with nine matches remaining.

"It's about changing mindsets - we've spoken about the psychological side of it a lot since we've been here, and I think we are seeing those green shoots of optimism," Bloomfield told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"We are seeing some habits changing, tactical understanding is improving, and we have to keep improving those things to get the results we need."

Luton were 2-1 winners at Cardiff on Tuesday, and beat Portsmouth in their previous home match, and Bloomfield said Kenilworth Road can play a big part when they host Middlesbrough on Saturday.

"I think we've been playing well at home recently, getting the crowd in the game who have been excellent for us, really backing the players and roaring us on.

"We believe in ourselves, we believe in what we're doing, we believe in the group we've got, and we have to attack the game."

Luton Town will start the day two points adrift of Championship safety when they face play-off chasing Middlesbrough on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

The Hatters have won two of their past three league games, while Boro have won three out of four to reignite their hopes of a top-six finish.

• Luton are unbeaten in their past seven home league games against Middlesbrough (W4 D3) since losing 1-0 back in October 1974.

• Middlesbrough are looking to complete a league double over Luton Town for the first time since the 1973-74 campaign under Jack Charlton.

• Luton Town have won five of their past 11 home league games (D3 L3) and haven't conceded more than one goal in any of those 11 at Kenilworth Road.

• Middlesbrough have lost five of their past six away league matches, winning the other 3-1 against Stoke City in February.

• Tommy Conway has scored six goals in his past 10 away league appearances for Middlesbrough.

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Luton Town are gelling and becoming a team, according to midfielder Thelo Aasgaard.

The Norwegian scored his first goal for the club in Tuesday's Championship win at Cardiff, having arrived from Wigan Athletic in January.

"It's hard to sum up in words but it's an unbelievable result and the lads carried out the game plan really well," Aasgaard told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"We knew before it was a big game but we approached it really calmly and even going 1-0 down we showed great character to stay in it and show our quality in the end."

The Hatters' second victory in their past three games moves them to within two points of safety and Aasgaard feels they have shown they are more than capable of escaping the drop.

"The message at half-time was to 'go for it, believe in yourselves'. We got the ball in the final third but it wasn't quite there with the final pass, final cross and so it was to believe in ourselves a bit more and we did.

"If you get too emotionally attached during a game you can get too down but we were really calm and there's such great character in this group, we're gelling really well and we're really becoming a team now and have picked up some important wins."

Luton host eighth-placed Middlesbrough on Saturday.

Cardiff City host Luton Town in the Championship on Tuesday night (19:45 GMT) with both sides desperately in need of points in their battle to avoid relegation.

The Welshmen are four points clear of the drop zone and five ahead of their opponents but have won just one of their past seven league games.

Luton are second from bottom and have lost 10 of their past 14 Championship matches with just one victory.

• Cardiff City have lost each of their past two home league games against Luton Town and will be looking to avoid losing three in succession to the Hatters for the first time.

• Luton Town have won each of their past four league games against Cardiff City, three of which have come via a 1-0 score line.

• Cardiff City suffered their first home league loss of 2025 against Burnley in their last such match, but have scored in each of their previous seven league games on home soil.

• Luton have won four of their past five league trips to Wales (L1), though their only defeat in that time did come at Swansea earlier this season, suffering a 2-1 defeat in December.

• Cardiff's Callum Robinson has been involved in five goals in his past four home league starts for the Bluebirds (4 goals, 1 assist).

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Defender Mark McGuinness makes his first return to Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday night (19.45 GMT) since leaving for Luton Town last summer.

McGuinness made one appearance for the Bluebirds in the League Cup this season - opening the scoring in a 2-0 win over Bristol Rovers - before signing for the Hatters in August.

The 24-year-old returns to Cardiff for a crucial relegation battle, with just five points separating City in 21st and current club Luton two places below.

Former Cardiff boss Mick McCarthy notably predicted the Republic of Ireland international would go on to be a "really good player" for Cardiff after signing him from Arsenal in 2021.

McCarthy also claimed McGuinness would be worth "a hell of a lot of money" in the future.

The first claim proved correct, with McGuinness becoming a commanding presence in Cardiff's defence during his three-year spell at the club, making more than 80 appearances.

He was somewhat surprisingly sent on loan to Sheffield Wednesday for the first half of the 2022-23 season, before regaining his place in the Cardiff team thanks to his impressive form at Hillsborough.

Whether he has proved to be worth a lot of money is less clear, though Luton claimed his move to Kenilworth Road was for a "significant undisclosed fee".

McGuinness has started all but five of Luton's 36 league matches this season, scoring three times for a side battling to avoid back-to-back relegations from the Premier League to League One.

The Hatters are second-bottom of the Championship having won only one of their past 14 league games.

They'll arrive in South Wales on the back of a 4-0 defeat at Burnley, with Luton and Cardiff sharing the second worst defensive record in the division.

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Luton Town hope to have Reece Burke in the squad for Tuesday's away game against Cardiff City following an injury-disrupted season.

The centre-back missed the opening four games of the campaign, and then suffered a quad injury against Leeds United in November which has kept him out ever since.

"We will see with Burkey, the best case will be with him on the bench. We can't let our situation or circumstances dictate whether we rush someone back if they're not quite ready," boss Matt Bloomfield told the club website, external.

"Burkey's been ill and that's knocked him back a bit but he had a big training session on Saturday and we'll see how he's reacted. But as I say, we've got to be careful, we need to make sure he's right."

The Hatters will be without suspended Kal Naismith following his 19th-minute sending off in Saturday's 4-0 defeat at Burnley.

Cardiff are the team immediately above the relegation places and Luton are in urgent need of what would be only their second win on the road this season to close a five-point gap to their opponents.

"We've got to be ready to perform. Their home form is decent, they're a good team and it will be a tough assignment but we'll hitting it with positivity," Bloomfield said.

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Luton Town boss Matt Bloomfield refused to blame Kal Naismith after the on-loan defender was sent off in their 4-0 defeat at Burnley.

Bloomfield had described the centre-back as "integral" in the build-up to the game, bringing valuable experience to their squad.

But he only lasted until the 19th minute at Turf Moor before two yellow cards saw him make an early return to the changing room.

"Kal's disappointed, understandably so. He's an experienced boy, he knows the game but I'm not going to criticise him. He's been excellent since we signed him," Bloomfield told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"For the first 18 minutes I thought we were excellent, our shape was very good and our discipline, and there were a few turnover moments when we were able to hit Burnley on the counter-attack.

"But with 10 men it was always going to be a very tough afternoon for us. In my opinion, the first one wasn't a yellow, it was right in front of me and he gets the ball.

"I'm proud of the way we kept going with 10 men, it would have been easy second half to go under and the boys stood up to be counted, they were fighting and we have to recognise that irrespective of the result."

Luton continue their fight against a second successive relegation on Tuesday night, away to Cardiff City.

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Luton Town boss Matt Bloomfield said January loan signing Kal Naismith is "integral" to the side as they attempt to avoid relegation from the Championship.

The 33-year-old first joined the Hatters in January 2021 before moving to Bristol City in May 2022, but he returned to Kenilworth Road until the end of this season.

Naismith has made three starts at the centre of a back three, and helped Luton keep their first clean sheet in eight games - and first win in 13 - in the 1-0 win over Portsmouth last Saturday.

Luton, who are 22nd and five points from safety, make the trip to promotion-chasing Burnley on Saturday (15:00 GMT) for their first of three games in seven days.

"I try and make the right choices as I see fit," Bloomfield told BBC Three Counties Radio, external when asked if Naismith could feature in every game this week.

"It's the only way to do it. Kal is integral to us. He's a huge player, a huge character.

"He's been incredible since he's come through the door and if he can play 90 minutes of all three, then great.

"And if he can't, then we will make the right decisions along the way."

The Clarets have conceded one goal in their past13 games and are unbeaten in 17 at Turf Moor this season - a record which Bloomfield described as "excellent".

"But I'm also a big believer that you have to play the game in front of you," he added.

"We have to attack the game and believe that we can win it. We do. We know it's going to be a tough game but we will be attacking it and believing in what we're trying to do."

Streaks came to their conclusion for Burnley and Luton Town over the past week.

The Clarets were unable to find a 13th successive clean sheet after conceding to Cardiff City on Tuesday.

While Hatter boss Matt Bloomfield found his first win with the club since his appointment in January, defeating fellow relegation battlers Portsmouth 1-0 at the weekend.

But will it be business as usual when the two sides face off at Turf Moor on Saturday (15:00 GMT)?

• Burnley are unbeaten across their last nine league games against Luton Town (W5 D4), winning the reverse fixture at Kenilworth Road 4-1 in August last year.

• Luton Town are unbeaten across their last eight league visits to Turf Moor to face Burnley (W3 D5), since a 2-1 defeat in March 1995.

• Burnley have kept six consecutive league clean sheets at Turf Moor. The Clarets last had a longer run without conceding between November 1946 and February 1947 (eight).

• Luton Town have lost 20 of their last 23 away league matches (W1 D2), including 13 of their last 14 on the road. The Hatters have lost the most away games in the Championship this season (14).

• Jaidon Anthony has three assists in his last two Championship appearances at Turf Moor for Burnley. He has only ended on the losing side in one of his 35 home starts in the Championship for Bournemouth, Leeds and the Clarets, the lowest percentage of defeats for any player who has started more than 20 home games in Championship history since 2004-05 (3%).

Image source, PA Media

Luton boss Matt Bloomfield said it was a "relief" to see his side secure their first victory since 20 December and the first he took over as manager.

The 1-0 victory against Portsmouth moved the Hatters off the bottom of the Championship table.

"It is a relief to get the first one. It has been too long and took a while. It isn't what I wanted when I joined but it was lovely to share that moment with the supporters at the end," Bloomfield told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"This result doesn't dissipate the disappointment of recent weeks, that is going to drive us on, but it will build belief.

"If you look at recent home games we have started games fast and it is the same today. Getting the first goal proved to be a decisive moment.

"I didn't think there were going to be too many goals in it today so to get ahead and give ourselves something to defend was what we needed. I thought the character and discipline in the second half was fantastic."

Basement-boys Luton host resurgent Portsmouth on Saturday (15:00 GMT) in a game with big implications at the foot of the Championship.

The Hatters have picked up just three points from eight league games under new boss Matt Bloomfield and have scored only one goal across five home games since Christmas.

Town's poor goal difference means they are effectively six points from safety while John Mousinho's men have climbed nine points clear of the relegation zone off the back of three straight victories.

• Luton Town have won just one of their past 10 league games against Portsmouth (D3 L6), though that sole victory did come in their last meeting at Kenilworth Road, a 3-2 win in January 2019.

• Portsmouth have won two of their past three away league games against Luton Town (L1), as many as across their prior 21 visits combined (D5 L14).

• Luton have failed to win any of their past 12 league games (D3 L9), their longest winless run in the Football League since a 13-match stint between January and March 2008.

• Portsmouth have won their past three league games in succession and will be looking to win four in a row for the first time in England's second tier since March 2011 (six wins).

• Portsmouth's 2-0 win at Oxford United in their last away game ended a run of 11 games without a win and seven straight defeats on the road. They last won consecutive away league games in the Championship in February 2011.

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Luton Town's loss to Watford extended their winless run to 12 league games and sees them five points adrift of safety on the Championship table.

Like Hatters captain Carlton Morris, boss Matt Bloomfield thinks the problem Luton face is either side of the pitch - but highlights the final touch as the part that needs the most improvement when it comes to finding goals.

"We passed the ball well, created chances in the final third but didn't have that final touch," Bloomfield told BBC Radio Three Counties.

"You saw today what's been hurting us recently is both boxes on the pitch. We haven't quite had that final touch one end and we are giving away too many soft goals the other."

The former Wycombe Wanderers head coach was appointed in January following the departure of Rob Edwards but Luton have not won a single game under his guidance and now sit at the bottom of the league.

It's leaving fans to question whether Bloomfield was the right man, however they may be pleased with another January arrival in Isaiah Jones.

"Since we've gone to three at the back, Isaiah has been fantastic as wing-back. He played a lot of football there when he was at Middlesbrough.

"I thought he had an edge to him today, he was very good."

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Luton Town skipper Carlton Morris says they must improve in both boxes if they are to have a chance of escaping relegation this season.

The Hatters lost 2-0 at Watford on Sunday despite a positive start to the game and although they matched the home side's shot count (10), they only managed two on target.

"We're in a difficult moment, there's no disputing that, but it's not how many times you get beaten down, it's how you get up and react as a football club and as a human being," Morris told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"We have to score when we're on top and in the ascendancy, and be more diligent defensively. The game's won in both boxes, irrelevant of the overall performance - the best you can do is balance the game in your favour, but in the games we're doing that, we're losing because we've not been good enough in both boxes.

"We need to get that ruthless edge back."

Luton are next in action at home to Portsmouth on Saturday, having drawn 0-0 at Fratton Park in their second game of the season.