Preamble
So here we are. 85 days since last season ended we’re back at it again. Back at it for our first Championship fixture since Coventry at Wembley. What a day that was, my friends. Tonight, under the lights at the Kenny, Rob Edwards’ side take on Burnley, a side who suffered the same fate in relegation back to the second tier from the top-flight. With the TV cameras in tow tonight, the old girl is going to be one sweaty mess of beautiful chaos (check the weather, and dress appropriately, by the way) as two of the Championship’s favourites for promotion go head-to-head in the earliest of, er, head-to-heads. Not much has changed for the Town. Two new faces and a manager fresh from signing a new four-year contract. For Burnley, there’s a change in the dugout and plenty of fresh faces to add to a squad that is already brimming with talent. So, game one of 46, here we go. Welcome back to the Championship. Scream if you want to go faster.
Team news
While the Town, by Rob Edwards’ own admission, have had a hangover of injuries from the tail end of last season going into the new campaign, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Defender Teden Mengi is likely to return to the side after hobbling off in the friendly against Celta Vigo. The Hatters will be without, however, Marvelous Nakamba, Amari’i Bell, Reece Burke, Mads Andersen and Jacob Brown.
What Rob says
On Burnley test: “We’ve played them a lot in the last couple of seasons, Scott knows the Championship very well and knows the Premier League very well, especially as a player but he's had big success as a manager in this league, so I expect them to be very strong.
“I think that’s good for us and they’ll probably see it in the same way as well, it’s not going to be difficult to get up for this game.
“There can’t be anyone downbeat about getting relegated or anything like that, this is a really big game, Monday night, Sky TV are here, in front of the cameras, it’s almost like last season anyway and what we were experiencing, it’s got to bring out the best in us.”
The visitors
In Friday’s press conference, Burnley chief Scott Parker confirmed there were no fresh injury concerns for his heading into Monday night.
He said: “We haven’t got many concerns. Obviously we’ve got some longer-term injuries who are on the right track, but other than that it’s pretty much a full squad to choose from.”
Parker could give debuts to summer signings, Vaclav Hladký, Andreas Hountondji, Etienne Green, Shurandy Sambo and Lucas Pires.
Having been relegated with the Town from the Premier League the Clarets will be aiming to bounce back at the first attempt for the second time running. After coming down from the top-flight in 2021/22, Burnley cruised to the Championship title in 2022/23, the season we joined them by winning the play-offs.
Parker on us: “Rob has done an incredible job. We saw this first hand last year, it’s a difficult place to go. Top teams went there and had a real fight.
“The way they play, they’re aggressive, it’s a tight stadium, they cause you problems and if ever there was a game to start the season where you have to be right up for a battle, this is it.
“Rob has done a great job there. He gave them a real fighting chance last year and our team will be under no illusions to what they face.
“While saying that, we also have big quality and hopefully we can hurt them as well.”
And if you know your history
No Town team has beaten Burnley in 24 years, a run of eight matches without a victory. Not since goals from Alan White and Phil Gray has a Luton team secured three points against the Clarets, that win coming at Turf Moor in March 2000. In the eight games that have followed, Burnley have won four and four have ended draws - including our 1-1 draw last season.
Bizarrely, both teams tend to excel at the ground of their opponents. At Kenilworth Road, Burnley have won seven of the last nine visits, including last season’s 2-1 win in October. The Clarets have won their last four, with the Town’s last win a 2-1 success in Division 2 (today’s League 1) in November 1999 thanks to a brace from on-loan striker Neil Midgley. At Turf Moor the Hatters are unbeaten in eight visits (W3, D5).
Played for both
Stand-out names here include striker Andre Gray, who played in the top-flight for Burnley and non-league for the Town, defender Steve Davis, who captained both clubs, and goalkeeper Marlon Beresford, who won promotion with both clubs.
The man in the middle
Matthew Donohue has the distinction of overseeing two consecutive Town fixtures across two divisions this evening. The referee, who was added to the Premier League roster last term, took charge of our 4-2 home defeat to Fulham on the final day of last season – a game in which he showed nine yellow cards. In 36 games he dished out 171 yellow cards (4.75 per game, that) but only three reds.
Changes around the ground
Around the old girl tonight, depending on where you’re sitting and how you enter, you’ll see a number of changes.
The Kenilworth Road end will see the return of the Hatters Hideout, a space for our younger supporters to chill out and visit pre-match and at half-time.
Also in the Kenny End is a new accessible ramp to the disabled area, while at that end of the ground access in general will benefit from more space with less broadcast facilities on site than last season.
We’ve also installed new men’s toilets underneath the Oak Road stand and new women’s facilities close-by at gate 9.
Get with the programme
On sale tonight for four of your English pound coins, is our new programme for the new season.
A new look, a new style, design by The Graphic Bomb it’s 76 pages of all your favourites, including columns from Rob, club captain Tom Lockyer and CEO Gary Sweet. Look out for our sellers around the ground.
How to watch and be a part of it
Viewers in the UK can watch the game via Sky Sports Main Event or Sky Sports Football and the rest of the world on official EFL rightsholders.
Live audio commentary will be available with commentary from Simon Pitts via LTFC+.
Full match highlights, goals and interviews will be available to view after the match on LTFC+ and across all social media channels.
Click here to view all our LTFC+ packages.
Even though the game is live on television, LTFC+ subscribers can watch the fixture in the following countries and territories: Hungary, Philippines, Portugal, South Korea, Albania, American Samoa, Andorra, Belarus, Belgium, Brunei, Cambodia, Cape Verde, China, Christmas Islands, Cocos Islands, Cook Islands, Cyprus, DACH, East Timor, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Gambia, Gibraltar, Greece, Guam, Indonesia, Italy, Kiribati Islands, Laos, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malaysia, Malta, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Norfolk Islands, North Korea, North Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Poland, Republic of South Sudan, Samoa, Singapore, Socotra, Soloman Islands, South Tyrol, Spain, Tahiti, Taiwan, Thailand, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Wallis & Futuna, Western Samoa.
Don’t be that fan
We have committed in our customer charter to providing safe match-day experiences for all supporters regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability or sexual orientation, and this applies equally to home and away fixtures.
In the event that any supporter makes discriminatory chants, the Club will work with the police and football authorities to help identify such individuals. Any such fans would then face the strictest club sanctions, including football banning orders that would prevent them attending any matches, in addition to any criminal charges.
The Club can also be held responsible for the behaviour of its supporters, which could lead to substantial fines being imposed – fines of which, have been exercised by the authorities in recent seasons.
As a diverse and inclusive football club, we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our fellow clubs in supporting the FA’s ‘Love Football. Protect the Game’ campaign and call on all fans to enjoy the game in a positive spirit.
If you are offended by any discriminatory abuse of any kind at any of our games, you can report it by clicking here, or by contacting your nearest steward immediately. Alternatively, email myvoice@lutontown.co.uk or report the incident via Kick it Out’s free, confidential reporting app on the App Store and Google Play.
