Coventry City vs Luton Town match preview: Form, h2h and score prediction

The mighty Luton Town are flying in the league at the moment, with 6 wins from 8 league games since super Robbie Edwards took charge. The next few games are slightly tougher, with two away games and then Burnley at home. However, the Hatters should be confident going into all of those games (even Burnley) due to the amazing form we find ourselves in, as well as Elijah Adebayo getting back to his best. The next few games should be a real test to see if we can cement ourselves in the playoffs for the second year running, and the Hatters will really fancy their chances in front of a sold out away following.

The opposition

Coventry have had a dull season so far, sitting in 15th place, which is below their ambitions of reaching the playoffs, although they are only 6 points off. The Sky Blues have had major problems off the pitch, mainly with their stadium ownership. Coventry do not own the stadium, and in December they were given an eviction notice to leave their stadium by the new landlord Mike Ashley. This has since been resolved temporarily and it is understood they will play at the CBS Arena at least until the end of the season. Earlier this season they were given a 5 point suspended points deduction due to the state of their pitch, after 3 games had to be cancelled due to Wasps Rugby club allowing all Commonwealth Rugby games to be played at the CBS. January was also a turbulent time for Coventry with star striker Victor Gyokeres linked with a move away for practically the whole window, so the fans will surely be ecstatic that the Swede is staying, for now.

Underlying Statistics

Coventry only have 1 win in their last 5, losing 3 times (most recently vs the in form West Brom), winning against Huddersfield, losing against Norwich and Burnley and drawing to Bristol City. While these are not good results, the quality of the opposition should be taken into account.

They have scored 31 goals and conceded 32, below Luton in both categories (37 goals and 29 conceded.) Possession wise they are similar to Luton, preferring to sit back and let the opposition have the ball, with 47.3% average possession, while Luton have 44%. Therefore it looks like a "you have it, we have it" situation is likely to unfold.

For the formation, Mark Robins also plays with a 3 man defence most of the time, alternating between 343 and 352 (mostly playing 343.) Their top scorer is the clinical Victor Gyokeres, who scored against Luton in the reverse fixture back in September, which was a 2-2 draw. There is no doubt the Swedish striker will earn himself a move to the Premier League eventually.

Players to watch out for

Victor Gyokeres:

An obvious inclusion, the 24 year old Gyokeres is one of the best forwards in the league, and he is joint second top scorer with 12 goals so far. Luton will be hoping he doesn't score again, as he beat Potts for pace to score in the 11th minute in the last game, as well as giving Sonny Bradley a torrid time. The 6'2 forward is very well rounded, so the Luton defence needs to keep a sharp eye on him this Saturday. One for Tom Lockyer to handle.

Gustavo Hamer:

The Dutch midfield maestro has 5 goals and 3 assists from midfield, a very impressive tally for someone playing further back. Hamer is only 5'6 but poses a threat from defensive midfield with his tough tackling, an eye for a pass and great shooting ability, scoring 13 and assisting 16 in his three seasons in the Championship. Much like his teammate, Hamer scored in the reverse fixture with a superb strike from outside the box. Luton need to be wary of these two Coventry stars, because either player's quality is such that they could slot into a Premier League side in the future.

Prediction

While Luton have been exceptionally good away from home this season and come into this game having won 6 out of 8 league games since Rob Edwards took charge, Coventry have a decent record home, having beat Blackburn, Sheffield United and West Brom at the CBS Arena. Having said this, Luton are playing incredibly well at the moment, an exception being the 3-0 FA Cup 4th round loss to Grimsby, so the prediction is a hard fought 2-1 victory for the Hatters.

Likely Lineup

Horvath,

Burke Lockyer Bell

Drameh Clark Nakamba Pelly Doughty

Morris Adebayo

Date- Saturday 11th February

Kick-off- 15:00

Venue- CBS Arena

Head to head record (previous 8 matches)

13 Mar 2018 Coventry City v Luton Town D 2-2 League Two

15 Dec 2018 Coventry City v Luton Town W 1-2 League One

24 Feb 2019 Luton Town v Coventry City D 1-1 League One

08 Dec 2020 Coventry City v Luton Town D 0-0 League Championship

16 Mar 2021 Luton Town v Coventry City W 2-0 League Championship

29 Sep 2021 Luton Town v Coventry City W 5-0 League Championship

08 Mar 2022 Coventry City v Luton Town W 0-1 League Championship

14 Sep 2022 Luton Town v Coventry City D 2-2 League Championship

By Samuel Roy