Fleetwood Town will welcome league leaders Luton Town to Highbury Stadium on Saturday afternoon in Sky Bet League One, with both teams in form ahead of kick-off.
Fixture: Fleetwood Town v Luton Town
Competition: Sky Bet League One
Date: Saturday 16th February 2019
Match officials: Peter Bankes (Referee), Geoffrey Russell and Timothy Wood (Assistants), Thomas Bramall (Fourth Official)
Kick-Off: 15:00
Venue: Highbury Stadium, Park Avenue, Fleetwood, FY7 6SP
FLEETWOOD TOWN
Last five results in all competitions: W W L W D
League position: 9th with 45 points
Club’s top goal scorer: Paddy Madden (17 goals all competitions)
Fleetwood Town made it back to back wins in the league for the first time since October after a 1-0 victory over Charlton Athletic was backed up by a 1-0 win away at Bradford City last weekend, with Paddy Madden scoring his 17th goal of the campaign.
That goal in West Yorkshire made it 30 goals between Madden and strike partner, Ched Evans and it will be one that the head coach Joey Barton wants to see grow even more with plenty of games left in the 2018/19 season.
Harry Souttar - who is on loan from Stoke City - has been ever present since his arrival and has kept two clean sheets in the two games he has played in against Charlton and Bradford. The partnership with Ashley Eastham is improving every day and will be one Barton would like to see continue to push his side closer to the play-off places.
LUTON TOWN
Last five results in all competitions: W W W W W
League position: 1st with 68 points
Top goal scorer: James Collins (19 goals in all competitions)
The league leaders Luton Town come to the Fylde Coast on the back of five straight wins, with newly appointed full-time manager, Mick Harford. The side obviously lost Nathan Jones in January with his move to Championship side Stoke City, but the wheels at Luton have continued to roll forward.
Town won 3-0 at home last weekend against Wycombe Wanderers with top goal scorer James Collins scoring the first goal in the 33rd minute, and with two late goals from George Moncur, the whites picked up another three points.
Hardford’s side have scored 14 goals in their last five matches, and with their opponents, Fleetwood Town keeping two clean sheets on the bounce it will certainly be a well fought contest when they meet on Saturday.
Last time the two sides met
It will be a day that Fleetwood Town want to forget as when they last met in the league, it was back in December at Kenilworth Road.
Joey Barton’s side lost 2-0 with Harry Cornick scoring in the opening 11 minutes of the match, and then an 80th minute own goal from Craig Morgan sealed the victory for the Hatters on home soil.
One To Watch: James Collins
James Collins has featured in 36 games this season, scoring 19 leagues goals for the Hatters, with his latest coming against Wycombe Wanderers last weekend.
Collins started off his career at Aston Villa in 2004 with their Youth Team, where he scored 23 goals in his first season. Collins was sent out on loan by Martin O’Neill – Villa manager at the time – so he could prove himself away from the club. Darlington and Burton Albion came calling as the striker spent time away from Villa Park.
The 28-year-old signed for Shrewsbury Town on a permanent deal in 2011. He scored his first goal for the Salops in a 3-1 win over Rotherham United, and later scored against Arsenal at The Emirates in the League Cup.
After spells at Swindon, Hibernian and Crawley Town, he found himself at Luton in 2017. Now on a three-year-deal at the club, he has settled down and made his place as a No.10 after the goals he has scored this season, which sees his side top of the league table.
JOEY BARTON
“Luton Town are 19 games unbeaten and are currently on a good run. They have lost their manager and have brought in players to get them over the line; so for me they're probably a stronger side than the one we met in December.
"Last time a top six side came to Highbury we beat them. It will be a huge test against Luton to see where we are as a team. We go into the match with another opportunity to pick up points.
"It was great to see the lads get the back to back wins, and it was evident in the dressing room last weekend. I have confidence that we can derail Luton’s run!"
MICK HARFORD
“Kaz [Kazenga LuaLua] is back training now, he’s only joined in the last two or three days, but the sun’s out, it’s nice and bright, the pitch is a bit flatter and the boys were on fire this morning. It was a pleasure to watch them training, it was really sharp and bright.
“They’re (Lee and Cornick) both training, back in with the squad and have been in for the last two or three days. So they are back, whether they’ll be available for selection, we don’t know yet.
“With the support of the board, we were in a magnificent position when the window closed and it would have been naive or silly of us not to strengthen and give us a good choice for the run-in. There would have been nothing worse than going into the run-in with a shortage of players.”
Ticket information
Fleetwood Town fans who haven’t yet purchased their tickets for the match can still buy theirs online, over the phone or at either of our club shops at Highbury or Poolfoot Farm. With Joey Barton’s side looking to maintain their run of form, you can back the side at Highbury by purchasing your tickets today!
Adults - Starting from £22
Senior / Under 25s - Starting from £17
Under 16s - Starting from £7
Under 5s – FREE
For more information about the fixture, or to purchase tickets, supporters can call 01253 775080, or visit the club shop at Highbury Stadium.
BETTING ODDS
If you fancy Fleetwood Town to get three points against the league leaders, you can get odds of 13/5, with a draw being priced at 11/5.
Luton are favourites to win on Saturday with the current odds at 21/20. This would make it six league wins on the bounce for Mick Harford.
The special price boost for this game is that if Fleetwood win the game, but both teams score, the odds are now at 8/1. What about another clean sheet and another 1-0 win? The odds are now 17/2.
For a Fleetwood 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1 win, the odds are 7/2. Good luck!
There are more odds on the official Sky Bet website HERE. Please bet and gamble responsibly.