Luton under the lights…
We have our second away game in four days tomorrow as we return to the scene of our final match of last season in Luton Town.
Paul Ince’s men will kick off against the Hatters on Tuesday 1st November, 7.45pm kick off, as we look to bounce back from our defeat at Burnley.
So ahead of the match, find out all the information you need in your big preview below…
Tickets
Tickets are on sale until 12pm on the day of the game.
Purchase your Luton Town tickets here
The collection point will be from the away turnstiles around an hour and a half before kick off.
Travel
The nearest railway station to the ground is Luton, which is a twenty minute walk and one mile away, served by services from London St Pancras.
ROYALSTV
A reminder that our Season and Monthly subscriptions are available for RoyalsTV – fans in the UK/Ireland can get hold of Audio packages (£4.49 per calendar month, or £45 for the remainder of the season), while overseas supporters can get Video packages which cover eligible Sky Bet Championship fixtures (£25 per calendar month, or £170 for the entire season). This fixture is a co-exclusive broadcast available on Sky Sports Arena and Royals TV.
The following Match Passes are available for this fixture:
- Audio Match Pass (£2.50) | Worldwide
- Video Match Pass (£10) | Worldwide
See our available subscriptions
The opposition
Luton Town, having been founded in 1885 are now in their third separate spell as a Football League club.
They initially joined the Second Division in 1897 but left in 1900, only to rejoin in 1920 on the creation of the third division.
After finishing as runners up in 1936, the following year saw the Hatters return to the second tier for the first time in 37 years.
The 1950s proved a successful decade for the club, with promotion to the top flight secured in 1955 before they reached the 1959 FA Cup Final where they were defeated 2-1 by Nottingham Forest.
The next five years were not as kind to the club as they suffered three relegations between 1960 and 1965 to see fourth tier football played for the first time at Kenilworth Road.
The Bedfordshire side took three years to earn promotion from Division Four, winning their first divisional title in 1968.
The club rose steadily through the league again, with second place finishes in 1970 and then 1974 helping the club return to the First Division but they were to last only one season.
They returned seven years later in style by claiming the Second Division title. Luton installed a plastic pitch in 1985 and this was a factor in their improved league positions as they secured three top half finishes, including their highest ever league position of seventh in 1987.
The next year saw the Hatters reach Wembley twice, with the Royals running out 4-1 winners in the Simod Cup Final before Tuesday’s opponents won their only major trophy a month later when Arsenal were defeated 3-2 in the League Cup Final thanks to an injury time winner by Brian Stein.
They almost reclaimed the trophy, however just like in 1959 they were beaten by Nottingham Forest.
Grass returned as the playing surface in LU4 in 1991 and the next season brought to an end a decade of top flight football as the club missed out on playing in the first season of the Premier League.
They then returned to the third tier for the first time since 1970 and dropped again in 2001 but they earned promotion at the first time of asking before winning the League One title in 2005 with 98 points.
After a tenth place finish in the Championship financial mismanagement saw the club unravel and they suffered three consecutive relegations, two aided by points deductions.
Their demise into non-league saw them unable to defend their EFL Trophy title, which they had won thanks to a 3-2 win over Scunthorpe United only eight days before they were relegated.
The Hatters took their time to rebuild and it wasn’t until 2014 they earned promotion back to the Football League, with Andre Gray scoring 30 goals.
Their highlight during their time in the National League was reaching the Fifth Round of the FA Cup in 2013, with a 1-0 win at then Premier League Norwich City in the Fourth Round the first time a non-league side had beaten a top flight team since Sutton United defeated Coventry City in 1989.
Nathan Jones became their manager in 2016 and after losing in the League Two Play-Offs, he delivered promotion the next season before he departed to Stoke City with the club top of League One.
Club legend Mick Harford oversaw the rest of 2018-19 campaign, with the League One title won for a second time to bring Championship football back for the first time in twelve years.
Graeme Jones was appointed that summer but departed with the club second bottom of the league, with Nathan Jones returning in May 2020 and collecting 16 points in Project Restart to achieve a final day survival, with the only defeat in that period coming at the hands of a 5-0 win for the Royals.
Jones then led the side to 12th in the table in his first full season back at the helm and 2021-22 saw the team finish sixth, their highest position since 1992, however their hopes of ending three decades away from the top flight were ended by Huddersfield Town in the Championship Play-Off semi-finals.
Summer arrivals included Alfie Doughty from Stoke City and Barnsley strikers Cauley Woodrow and Carlton Morris as well as Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Ethan Horvath joining on loan who has claimed the number one jersey.
After two points from their opening four games, a run of one defeat in eleven matches saw the Hatters up to fourth however they have since been defeated 4-0 by local rivals Watford before being held to a 1-1 draw by Sunderland in their last outing to leave them 9th in the league, level on points with the Royals.
One to watch: Carlton Morris
Cambridge born striker Carlton Morris joined the Hatters this summer from Barnsley and leads their goal scoring charts with eight strikes so far.
He began his career with Norwich City and spent 15 years with the Canaries but only ever made one league appearance, in a 1-0 defeat to Wigan Athletic in March 2015.
The vast majority of his time after that was spent out on loan, with no less than eight loan spells away from Carrow Road.
He scored his first senior goal in the League Cup whilst with Oxford United in a 2-1 win at Bristol City in 2014 before spending time with then fellow League Two side York City.
The striker spent 2015-16 north of the border with Hamilton Academical, with his eight strikes helping them finish 10th in the league.
His next taste of Championship action came in the spring of 2017 but he failed to score in eight appearances for Rotherham United as they finished bottom of the league.
Morris had a successful 2017-18 campaign with Shrewsbury Town, with Paul Hurst’s side finishing third in the league, and scored in the second leg of their Play-Off semi-final with Charlton Athletic to take the Shrews to Wembley.
However, they went down 2-1 at the national stadium to the side he spent the previous season with in Rotherham.
The forward returned to the Millers, back in League One, in 2019 and found the net four times before a January loan switch to MK Dons where he scored against Coventry City and Rochdale.
He returned to Stadium MK for the first half of 2020-21 but after four goals he was recalled by Norwich and finally departed Norfolk permanently in January 2021 when he joined then Championship outfit Barnsley.
Seven goals followed, including a winner against Rotherham, as the Tykes finished fifth but were defeated in the Play-Offs by Swansea City.
The next season proved tougher for the South Yorkshire team and despite matching his previous tally, he suffered his second relegation from the second tier.
The 26-year-old stayed in the division however when Luton came calling and made his debut in a 0-0 draw with Birmingham City.
He broke his duck in a 2-0 win at Swansea City, then scored five in his next five matches as the Hatters rose up the table.
Morris then scored the only goal of the game on his return to Carrow Road to claim the points, with his eighth goal of the 2022-23 coming in Saturday’s draw with Sunderland.
Head to Head
Tuesday’s meeting will be the 60th time the Royals and the Hatters have gone up against each other, with 26 previous meetings going the way our way, with 24 in the favour of our hosts.
Having first met in 1921, the most high profile game between the sides was the 1988 Simon Cup Final and despite Luton taking the lead at Wembley, goals from Michael Gilkes, Michael Beavon, Michael Tait and Neil Smillie brought the trophy home!
It wasn’t until 1994 that the teams met in the second tier, with a 0-0 draw at Elm Park before we took the points at Kenilworth Road thanks to an own goal by John Taylor.
Following the Bedfordshire side’s return to this level in 2019, we did the double over them in their first season back winning 3-0 in RG2 before Yakou Meite helped himself to four in a 5-0 victory in the return fixture.
Last season the Hatters did the double over us, with a 2-0 win in Berkshire before they earned a Play-Off spot with a 1-0 triumph on the final day.
Ref Watch
The Football League have confirmed that John Brooks will oversee our clash with Nathan Jones’ side, with it being the first time he has officiated the Royals since our 2-2 draw with Swansea City on home soil in April 2021
Brooks has been refereeing in the Football League since 2016-17 with his first match being Blackpool’s 2-0 win over Exeter City in League Two that August.
The Leicestershire based Official, has overseen nine matches this season, in the Premier League, Championship and EFL Cup, awarding 36 yellow cards and one red card.
Brooks will be assisted by Harry Lennard and Matthew Wilkes whilst Josh Smith will act as fourth official.