Preview: Luton Town vs Cardiff City - prediction, team news, lineups

Luton Town play host to Cardiff City on Saturday afternoon looking to keep pace with the top teams in the League One table.

At a time when the Hatters sit in sixth place, opponents Cardiff are in second having put together an unbeaten start on their return to the third tier.

Match preview

Having suffered relegation from the Championship, both Luton and Cardiff would have been expecting to make fast starts to the campaign.

The Hatters delivered a 1-0 victory over AFC Wimbledon on the opening day of the season and they have since gone on to collect nine points from four matches.

Although losing 2-1 at Bradford City was a disappointment, wins over Peterborough United and Wigan Athletic have ensured that Matt Bloomfield's side remain within three points of leaders Stevenage.

Perhaps most impressively, Luton have kept three clean sheets, only conceding in the defeat to a Bradford side that are yet to lose in any competition during the early stages of 2025-26.

Luton have netted just five goals, however, with none of their players yet to score more than once in this division.

Meanwhile, Cardiff have accumulated 10 points from a possible 12 and have displayed the credentials required to secure an immediate return to the second tier of English football.

Aside from a goal conceded during the 2-1 victory over Peterborough United in their first game, they have recorded three shutouts.

Most recently, victories over Rotherham United and AFC Wimbledon have been posted, with the goalless draw at Port Vale the one blot on their copybook.

As with Luton, the goals have been shared around this Bluebirds team, with only Rubin Colwill scoring twice during the opening quartet of fixtures.

Luton Town League One form:

W W L W

Luton Town form (all competitions):

W W L L W

Cardiff City League One form:

W D W W

Cardiff City form (all competitions):

W D W W W

Team News

Bloomfield could potentially select the same Luton XI that started the win over Wigan earlier this week.

If a change is made, it could come at left wing-back with Cohen Bramall having been working his way back to full fitness, but he came through 56 minutes against the Latics unscathed.

Lasse Nordas is expected to remain among the replacements despite making a positive impression as a substitute in the previous game.

David Turnbull and Isaak Davies are both pushing for recalls to the Cardiff starting lineup after combining for their team's last-gasp winner at Wimbledon.

Joel Colwill and Cian Ashford could each drop down to the substitutes' bench, while Chris Willock also seems likely to get the nod over Ollie Tanner after the latter was withdrawn shortly before half time versus the Dons.

Luton Town possible starting lineup:

Keeley; Lonwijk, McGuinness, Naismith; Kodua, Saville, Walsh, Bramall; Clark, Alli; Yates

Cardiff City possible starting lineup:

Trott; Kpakio, Fish, Lawlor, Bagan; Turnbull, Wintle; Davies, R.Colwill, Willock; Salech

We say: Luton Town 1-1 Cardiff City

With both teams having reason to be delighted with their respective starts to the season, this game may be about avoiding defeat. With that in mind, the two title contenders could play out a low-scoring draw at Kenilworth Road.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.