The Hatters did fantastically well last season, coming second in their group, before reaching the semi-finals of the competition, only to concede a late goal in a 3-2 defeat to Sky Bet League One side Oxford United at Kenilworth Road, denying them a place at Wembley.
Spurs are one of four new entrants to the competition this season among the 16 invited EPPP Category One academy sides – Manchester City, Newcastle and Fulham being the others. They must start with six players who were under the age of 21 on 30th June 2017.
The other teams the Town will come up against in Southern Group F are Barnet, who come to Kenilworth Road on Tuesday 3rd October, and League One AFC Wimbledon, who we visit on Tuesday 31st October.
THE GAFFER SAYS:
On the squad he will pick: "There'll be opportunity for people to make debuts, so there will be an element of youth throughout the side and we'll make sure that we use the whole squad so that Saturday we go in and everyone is up to speed and ready, and available for selection.
"We'll pick who we want to pick, but to be fair, I think the rules are very sensible this year. For anyone to be fined this year I think you really would have to flaunt the system. But with us, we picked the side that we felt that we needed to give experience to, and to gain and to test and to challenge, and we'll do that against Tottenham."
On Spurs: "Ironically, you watch Spurs U23s as much as you watch Mansfield or Lincoln, or anyone, because they play regularly and it's a pool that a lot of clubs at our level dip into, so well have a good eye on them.
"We've watched them two or three times. I watched them against Cambridge in pre-season and had them covered at Sunderland the other day, so we'll know how they play. But we know how Spurs play. I've watched Spurs plenty of times last year, the U23s, they played Stevenage, which was very good for us, so we understand how they play. It'll be a good footballing game.
"I know Wayne Burnett very well, Justin Cochrane also – I played with Justin – so it'll be a good game."
WHO?
A member of the Premier League 2 Division One, Tottenham U21s finished 10th out of 12 teams, having won six of their 22 games. They started the current campaign with a 2-1 defeat at Sunderland last Friday night. A number of Spurs' current crop of talent progressed through their youth ranks, including striker Harry Kane and midfielder Harry Winks.
WHEN AND WHERE?
The game takes place at Kenilworth Road tonight, with a 7.45pm kick-off.
TICKET PRICES?
Tickets for tonight's game cost just £5 for adults and £1 for Under-16s!
You can purchase in advance from the ticket office in person, by calling 01582 416976 or online by clicking here.
You will also be able to pay on the turnstiles, with the Main Stand, Main Enclosure and Kenilworth Road Lower open to home supporters. The Oak Road End is open only to visiting supporters.
LAST TIME WE PLAYED?
Town last played Spurs back in March 1992 – a Kenilworth Road clash which ended in a 0-0 draw. In total the sides have faced each other 80 times, with Town winning 22 of those meetings, losing 33 and drawing the other 25.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
You can follow the Hatters' Twitter feed on @LutonTown, or stay up to date on the LTFC website in the match centre. iFollow Subscribers will be able to tune into Simon Pitts' full match commentary, however, there will be NO live stream of the game for overseas supporters. For those experiencing iFollow Hatters issues, please email ifollow@efl.com with your query, or use the live chat tool on the website, as Luton Town unfortunately are unable to deal with subscription and sign-up problems.
