Preview: Luton Town vs Notts County - prediction, team news, lineups

Luton Town's push for a return to the Championship continues on Saturday afternoon when they welcome newly-promoted Notts County to Kenilworth Road.

The Hatters began their second season in League One with a dramatic 4-3 comeback victory over Reading, while the Magpies earned an impressive point against former Premier League champions Leicester City are playing out a 1-1 draw at Meadow Lane.

Match preview

Having narrowly missed out on the League One playoffs last season, finishing just one point behind sixth-placed Stevenage, Luton Town will be determined to go one better this time around and secure an immediate return to the Championship.

An encouraging pre-season has further raised optimism around the Bedfordshire club, with George Johnston, Harrison Ashby, Callum Marshall and the permanent signing Kasey Palmer among the additions brought in to strengthen Jack Wilshere's squad.

The Hatters began their competitive campaign with a trip to Gillingham in the League Cup, comfortably progressing to the second round after securing a 3-0 victory courtesy of goals from Nahki Wells, Benny Benagr and Gideon Kodua.

Attention then turned to their League One opener at Reading, where Wilshere's side endured a nightmare first half and found themselves 3-1 behind at the interval.

However, the Hatters produced a remarkable second-half turnaround, with Palmer scoring twice before Kouda struck in the 96th-minute to complete a memorable 4-3 comeback.

As for visiting Notts County, they were handed a difficult opening-day assignment against Russell Martin's Leicester City, who were Premier League champions a decade ago but have since suffered back-to-back relegations.

The Magpies fell behind shortly after half-time when Jayden Joseph found the net, but Martin Paterson's side refused to be beaten and secured a share of the spoils through Connor Grant's close-range finish late on.

That point marked Notts County's first in League One for 11 years, having spent the intervening period dropping into non-league before battling their way back through the divisions, while overcoming significant financial difficulties along the way.

The draw also continued the impressive home form that helped the Magpies finish fifth in League Two last season before securing promotion via the playoffs, with Paterson's side winning 13 of their 23 home league matches.

They will now be hoping to carry that attacking threat into the third tier rather than repeat their struggles from the 2014-15 campaign, when 50 points were not enough to prevent relegation.

The two sides will meet for the first time since playing out a goalless draw at Meadow Lane in 2018, with Luton experiencing three promotions and two relegations since that meeting.

Luton Town League One form:

Luton Town form (all competitions):

Notts County League One form:

Notts County form (all competitions):

Team News

Despite their dramatic opening-day victory, Luton will know there is plenty of room for improvement after conceding three first-half goals and could make changes for Saturday's contest.

One potential alteration could come in attack, with Kouda making an immediate impact from the bench by scoring the 96th-minute winner and potentially earning a place from the start.

The forward replaced Palmer, who had already scored a two-minute brace, making the former Bristol City midfielder a likely starter once again, although Kouda could instead come into the side for Emilio Lawrence on the wing.

As for Notts County, Paterson has no fresh injury concerns to contend with and has the luxury of being able to name an unchanged XI following their impressive draw against Leicester.

However, Grant's late equaliser came after being introduced from the bench, and his match-winning contribution could see him rewarded with a starting role this weekend.

Should the Irish midfielder come into the XI, Jack Evans is the most likely player to make way.

Luton Town possible starting lineup:

Keeley, Jones, Odoffin, Johnston, Naismith; Clark, Walsh; Richards, Palmer, Kouda; Wells

Notts County possible starting lineup:

Belshaw; Tsaroulla, Gibbons, Ness, Bedeau, Lipsiuc; Cooper, Campbell, Grant; Smyth, Roberts

We say: Luton Town 1-1 Notts County

Both sides remain unbeaten after the opening weekend, although there is understandably little to read into their respective league records after just one game of the 46-match campaign.

Notts County impressed against the Foxes on the opening day and, having already demonstrated their ability to compete with one of the division's promotion hopefuls, we expect the Magpies to hold their own once again and leave Kenilworth Road with a hard-fought point.

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