Luton V Southampton preview

After a well earned point at Turf Moor, Luton face Southampton at Kenilworth Road on the back of their amazing 0-6 win at Wolves last Saturday.

Luton will be without Leon Barnett due to the hamstring injury he sustained early on at Turf Moor.

Paul Underwood is nearing recovery from the long term deep seated infection which followed his operation last year but this game comes too soon for him.

Clarke Carlisle and Bjorn Runstrom have returned to their clubs, so Blackwell may bring in Russ Perrett and Chris Coyne if he is to persist with Heikkinen as holding midfielder in front of the back four. The alternative would be to play Heikkinen and Coyne at central defence and utilise Keith Keane in the holding role.

Whether Blackwell keeps the 4-1-4-1 formation or reverts to a more attacking one remains to be seen, because Luton really need a win to stay in contention for a place above the bottom three come the end of the season.

Calvin Andrew is fit after being taken off in a reserve game in midweek as a precaution when he tightened up towards the end of that game, after Luton had used all three substitutes. Such cautionary action would suggest that Calvin will play some part in the game.

Saints boss George Burley told his club's official website:

'With QPR and Burnley winning in midweek Luton will be desperate for the right result against us.

'They (Luton) are fighting for their lives so we will have to roll up our sleeves and show the same mental toughness as we did at Wolves last week.

'To go anywhere and win 6-0 is a fantastic performance but Wolves are a very good side and it was a fantastic result which has given us a lot of hope.

'This will be a very different type of game. It will be a tight enclosed stadium and it is not a great pitch so we will have to battle.

'We showed last Saturday that we are prepared to fight tooth and nail to get promotion and that has lifted a lot of spirits.

Southampton are lying 7th in the table, three points off a play-off place.

Town boss Blackwell said on www.lutontown.co.uk:

'We have got the ability to change from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3 or a 4-5-1. We are not blessed at the moment with a main target man and if you are playing with two small men it can be self defeating because the opposition know they can't be hurt over the top.

'I am just looking at how I can get good coverage to the back four to try and stop the goals from going in, but also getting a system where two players from midfield can join up with the attack very quickly.

'The system that I used at Burnley is used on the continent to a great degree. It's actually very rare to see a 4-4-2 played anywhere in Europe other than England.

'I want the players to have that in their locker and we can always go back to a 4-4-2 if we ever need to.'

Anything out of the game would be a result but I don't see us winning the match.

Prediction: 1-1

Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.