Tranmere Rovers v Luton Town: Match Preview

Our new Match Preview writer Louise Formston takes a look ahead to the Easter Monday game against Luton Town.......

Easter Monday sees another full set of fixtures across the Football League as the season is down to its final few weeks.  Tranmere will play hosts to League Two newboys Luton Town as Rovers look to climb clear of the relegation zone.  Luton, however are still within touching distance of the play offs in what has been a remarkable first season back in the Football League.  With the stakes high for both teams, it should be a good game with lots of goals as both teams go for the win.

Form Guide:

Tranmere head into Monday’s game on the back of two draws against in-form teams in the division, although both draws might be a little hard to take knowing Rovers played well yet switched off defensively and cost themselves an extra four points.  However, Tranmere came back from behind in both games, even going ahead at one point against Stevenage, so should start the game on Monday with more confidence than previous games.  Luton come to Prenton Park having lost 7 of their previous 7 games – in fact they did not gain a single point in March. 

On the road this season, Luton have managed just 5 wins all season, the last of them coming back in January against Plymouth.  Confidence amongst the Hatters may be at a low especially after they threw away a two goal lead on Friday against Exeter, who scored a third goal in injury time to snatch all three points away from Luton.

Previous Meeting:

The sides first met back in November at Kennilworth Road where a Ricky Miller goal was enough to hand Rovers their first defeat under Micky Adams. The game was attended by just over 9 thousand fans – a fantastic achievement for any club in League 2 and as the Hatters travel in numbers, I would expect a large following on Monday keen to make a lot of noise and end their clubs loosing streak.

Injuries and Suspensions:

Luton’s Manager John Still made reference to his side’s tiredness after their 3-2 defeat to Exeter as well as the lack of fitness some Hatters players currently have.  Lets hope Luton find the combination of travel and playing a Tranmere side keen to up the tempo, too much.  Rovers on the other hand, have an ever-shortening injury list, with Adams suggesting Thompson could be fit for Monday’s game with Cole Stockton not far away either.  Although Taylor came off on Friday due to cramp, he is still likely to feature in Monday’s game. The fixture however will come just too soon for both Matt Hill and Danny Gardner who continue their recovery.

The Opposition Dugout:

John Still will be the man taking his place in the away dugout come kick off at 3pm Monday.  After a short lived playing career due to injury, Still turned to management working his way through a number of non-league clubs before taking the reigns at Peterborough United in 1994.  Still later moved to Dagenham and Redbridge in 2004 overseeing a promotion up to League Two, before their promotion into League One and eventually their relegation back to League Two in 2011.  Following this, Still took over at Luton, managing them to promotion into League Two in his first full season with the club. 

Luton are Managed by the Experienced John Still

With this promotion, Still became the first (and the only) manager to lead three clubs out of non-league football – should we go down this season he’d be first on my list of managers to take over!  Most recently, Still won League 2 Manager of the Month in October and has not ruled out leading Luton to their second successive promotion this season.

One To Watch:

Mark Cullen (England) - 22

Back to forwards this week as Mark Cullen becomes my 4^th One to Watch.  Already on 13 goals since August (one more than a certain Max Power), Cullen has made 39 appearance for the Hatters this season.  Starting his career as a youth scholar at Hull, Cullen went onto make a number of first team Premier League appearances for the club, including one against Liverpool before going on loan to Bradford, Bury twice and then Stockport. 

Eventually, Cullen signed for Luton on a permanent basis in 2013 and really began to make a name for himself scoring 10 in his first season.  It was this goal scoring form that prompted Luton to tie him down on a longer deal, keeping him at Kenilworth Road until 2017. Cullen’s most recent goal came on Good Friday against Exeter as he fired Luton in to a 2-0 lead after he seized upon a loose ball after a rare defensive mistake from Exeter.

Around The League:

Accrington vs Carlisle:Carlisle managed just a draw against Pompey on Good Friday despite going 1-0 up whilst Stanley held on for a point with 10 men against Morecambe at the Globe Arena. A win for Carlisle would most likely see them safe this season, however should Stanley lose they could find themselves having to look over their shoulders towards the relegation zone.

Cheltenham vs Stevenage: Stevenage showed what they could do against us on Friday but lets hope they manage all 3 points in this one. Chltenham lost a relegation clash to York last time out so will be looking to gain all 3 points here.

Hartlepool vs Southend: Hartlepool will head into this game hoping to extend their unbeaten run to 6 as they welcome promotion-chasing Southend. Southend will be looking to build upon their 2-0 win at Mansfield and secure their play off spot heading into the final few rounds of fixtures.

Northampton vs Cambridge: Failure to win at Bury has seen Cambridge drop a little closer to the battle for survival as teams around them all picked up points. Another loss and Cambridge could be staring at relegation from League Two. Northampton however will start the game hoping to build a solid end to the season following their 2-2 draw with Wimbledon.

Oxford vs York: With both teams winning, it really was a Good Friday for these two. York’s 3 points against Cheltenham may prove to be vital, not just for York but the other teams involved in the fight for survival whilst Oxford managed to take home all 3 points from their trip to Wycombe after a closely fought 5 goal match.

My Starting XI:

    Fon Williams

Donacien      Ihiekwie         Thompson     Holmes

Myrie-Williams          Green             Power             Taylor

     Odejayi           Hume

I wasn’t at Stevenage and although the first goal has been chalked down to a Brezovan mistake, by all accounts he played the rest of the game very well so wouldn’t mind either himself or Fonners starting on Monday.  My issue choosing between the two keepers is the fact neither of them are keen to play the ball out quickly – something that needs addressing by the club especially when we have the pace of George Green and Myrie-Williams, or even Donacien who could take the ball forward.

Along the defensive line I would like to see Thompson replace Dugdale and line up with Donacien and Ihiekwie. With Danny Holmes fit, I’d be tempted to play him in left back, he’s proved he’s more than capable in that position this season with Rob Taylor just in front as a left winger, and an extra left back when needed. On the other side Myrie-Williams deserves a start after his goal on Friday, even if he only ever seems to score away from home! I’d argue to drop Steve Jennings, at least for the first half and ask Power to play a more defensive role whilst George Green sits behind both Odejayi and Hume.

Although I’d play a 4-4-2, I do think we have the players to go back to a 3-5-2, which gave us such success in the early months of the Adams’ era. Using similar players to above I’d switch Holmes to a right wingback and drop Myrie-Williams to bring in Jennings, providing the defence with a little bit more protection.

My Predictions:

I’m hoping for three points on Monday.  Knowing we can score two without Rory Donnelly on the pitch, coupled with the fact we appear to have stopped the rot could be enough of a confidence boost for Rovers to snatch all three points. All the players have spoken of the importance of the crowd, who by all accounts where second to none against Wimbledon and again at Stevenage, so we need to be sure to keep this up on Monday.  As long as heads don’t drop should we go behind, Tranmere have everything they need to win the game.