Luton Town v Stoke City: Capital One Cup preview

Luton Town entertain Premier League Stoke City tomorrow night (August 25) in the live televised Capital One Cup 2nd Round fixture which will be broadcast on Sky Sports 1 at 7:45pm.

Neither side have had the best of starts, so the Capital One Cup will provide an opportunity to give fans something to cheer about without the pressure of needing league points.

The Hatters, who are among the favourites to win promotion, have only managed to get 2 points from their opening four games of this campaign, which started with a 1-1 draw with Accrington Stanley followed by a 2-2 draw with Oxford and then two defeats against Bristol Rovers and Yeovil.

Stoke City are yet to record a victory in their three league games so far. Their opening game of the season ended in a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool which was followed up by draws against Norwich and Tottenham.

Luton will be hoping to take another higher league scalp after beating Championship side Bristol City in the previous round in a comprehensive 3-1 win.

Venue: Kenilworth Road

Kick Off time: 7:45 pm

TV: Sky Sports 1 at 7:45pm. Capital One highlights round-up on 26 August, Channel 5 at 11pm.

Head to Head results: Played 24, Luton 8 wins, lost 9, 7 draws. Luton have scored 45 goals against Stoke and conceded 42.

Last season score: NA

Betting Odds: Luton Town Win 4/1, Draw 13/5, Stoke City win 7/10

Sports team predictions: 1-2

Team news: Hatters’ boss John Still could keep faith with the same side that came so close to taking a win from Yeovil on the weekend. Sticking with the same players will help consistency and players such as Craig Mackail-Smith and Paul Benson will provide much-needed experience to match Stoke City’s Premier League pedigree.

Stoke manager Mark Hughes is unlikely to risk new signing Xherdan Shaqiri who made his debut over the weekend.

Injured: Influential Stoke centre back Ryan Shawcross has been sidelined with a back injury and is not expected to return until at least October. Peter Odemwingie is also on the Potters’ injury list and Jonathan Walters is out with illness

Form: Luton Town WDWDLL Stoke City WLLLDD

Discipline: Luton Town – Yellow Cards: 4 Red Cards: 0, Stoke City – Yellow Cards: 5 Red Cards: 0

Leading scorers: Luton Town – Benson and Marriott (2), Stoke City – Diouf (2)

Trivia:

• Luton have won five of their last seven home League Cup games.
• Since promotion to the Premier League in 2008, Stoke have lost just one second round fixture, a 4-3 home defeat to Swindon in 2012.
• This is the first meeting between the two sides since February 2007.
• The Potters have only failed to score in one of their last 10 away League Cup games.