Hatters v Cobblers preview

Kevin Blackwell's threat to place 6 or 7 players on the transfer list did not materialise after the debacle which saw his team lose a 3-1 lead in 17 minutes to lose 4-3 at Gilligham in the JPT on Tuesday evening.

At least the manager showed some passion and anger in defeat and will be hoping the team can bounce back to repeat the 2-0 defeat of The Cobblers gained last month in the JPT.

Luton have more injury problems but the core of the squad is intact and the players should be smarting from Tuesday evening and wanting to put on a performance on TV.

Kevin Blackwell on ltfc.co.uk:

'I expect Monday night's game to be a physical game. Northampton will knock it long and are quite direct. Much of their success has come from set plays and we are well aware of what they will be about'

Northampton boss Stuart Gray told ntfc.co.uk: 'I'm very confident that if we put in an honest hard working performance and maybe get that little bit of luck as well we can get a result, We are looking forward to being live on Sky and if we can put in a performance like we did in our last live game I'll be more than happy.

'I was pleased with our performance on Saturday after what happened at Millwall and we will go to Luton on Monday geared up to win the game. Kevin Blackwell signed quite a few senior pros in the summer but at this moment in time they are perhaps not gelling together.

'The fact that it is live on TV shouldn't matter to the players and my message to them is that they need to make sure that they don't overcomplicate things. Sometimes players can try things that they're not used to and at the end of the day it's the team that is the most important thing, not the individuals.'

David Bell should be fit again after a rib injury but Chris Coyne (groin)and David Edwards (hamstring) are out through injury. Edwards would not have been available anyway as he was in the Wales squad for their European qualifier.

On a roll and the only striker looking like scoring at the moment.

Northampton will be without captain Chris Doig (hamstring) and striker Paul Hubertz, who has a one-match ban.

Wing-backs Andy Holt and Jason Crowe also have hamstring injuries, while Giles Coke is still out with a medial knee ligament injury.

Has scored eight goals in 12 games this season and will be looking to improve on that. Has the knack of being in the right place at the right time for tap ins.

Any victory would be an improvement but I'll go for a repeat of last time: Luton 2-0 Northampton

Crewe Alexandra v Luton Sat 20 October away 3 pm

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