By Nicholas Rigg
September 22 2005

Next up for Wednesday are Championship high-flyers Luton Town in front of the Sky TV cameras on Friday night. The Owls are looking for their first away win of the season to see them climb out the relegation zone, but Luton are unbeaten at home this term, and hope to keep it that way.

LUTON TOWN VS WEDNESDAY

Date: Friday 23rd September

Venue: Kenilworth Road, Luton

Next up for Wednesday is a daunting trip to Luton Town on Friday night.

Luton Town are undoubtedly the surprise package of the Championship so far this season. Currently, they lie 4th in the league with 17 points, and have beaten Southampton, Crystal Palace, and Leicester City this season. They are unbeaten at Kenilworth Road so far, and hope to make it a fortress for visiting teams this season.

Luton were of course in the same division as Wednesday last season, and ran away with the league. In past meetings between the two teams last season though, Luton were nothing special in my eyes. We managed two draws with the champions, in two games where they never really looked like winning. Maybe we're their bogey side, let's hope so!

Luton have some injury problems in defence at the moment, which were not helped with injuries sustained at the game against Hull on Saturday. Russell Perrett was taken off in the last minute of the match and may miss the game on Friday. Steve Robinson was also injured and is likely to have a late fitness test. This list adds to the current injuries of Paul Underwood, Kevin Foley, and Markus Heikennen. Enoch Showumni is also a doubt.

Their danger man is likely to be Steve Howard who grabbed his second of the season at the KC Stadium on Saturday. Howard was rumoured to be signing for the owls in the summer but opted to stay at Luton. He's proved himself to be capable at this level, aswell as league one level, and is a man the owls defence will have to watch.

Paul Sturrock is likely to make changes to the team that got beat by Millwall on Saturday, and may try some players on Tuesday night against West Ham to experiment with the team. Lee Bullen and JP McGovern may also get a run out on the back of long lay-offs. Wednesday are left with two strikers following the departure of Adam Proudlock, so Barry Corr may feature in the match.

It will certainly be a difficult match for the owls against a well organised Luton side high on confidence, and I'd be happy with a point considering the current situation at the club. If we manage to put in a defensive performance similar to the QPR and Leeds match, and somehow add some firepower to that, then we may have a chance.

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Last SWFC Line-Up:

Lucas, Simek, Coughlan, Hills, Wood, Eagles, Whelen, Brunt, O'Brien, Peacock, Graham. Subs: Bullen, McGovern, Ross, Rocastle, Proudlock 

Last Luton Town Line-Up:

Beresford, Edwards, Davis, Perrett, Coyne, Nicholls, Robinson, Morgan, Brkovic, Howard, Feeney. Subs: Barnett, Brill, Andrew, Holmes, Keane

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MY PREDICTION: Luton Town 2-0 Wednesday