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

An injury-ravaged Norwich City side will be hoping to cling on to top spot in the Championship when they travel to Luton Town on Wednesday.

The Canaries conceded a late equaliser to draw 1-1 with Coventry City on Saturday, while the Hatters were thrashed 4-0 away at Cardiff City.

Match preview

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A first-half penalty from Mario Vrancic looked to have given Norwich victory against Coventry at Carrow Road, but Maxime Biamou popped up in the 89th minute to earn the Sky Blues a share of the points.

Daniel Farke was missing 13 first-team players for the match, which lead to Marco Stiepermann starting upfront and only six substitutes (five of which were academy players) being named on the bench.

While the result extended Norwich's unbeaten run to 10 games, it was the first time in four matches that they dropped points, however they kept their place at the top of the table due to Bournemouth also drawing, against Rotherham United.

Now the Canaries travel to Luton with the best away record in the division, having only lost once on their travels in the league so far in 2020-21.

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However they have been beaten in Bedfordshire already this season, when a hat-trick from James Collins earned Luton a 3-1 win in the first round of the EFL Cup. That is one of just three home wins the Hatters have recorded this season, and they have not won at Kenilworth Road since the beginning of October.

Their 4-0 defeat to Cardiff at the weekend broke a run of three consecutive 1-1 draws and left them 12th in the Championship table.

Nathan Jones admitted he was embarrassed by the result, which he described as the worst performance across his two spells at Luton manager.

A response is needed on Wednesday night to stop what is now the club's longest winless run under Jones since March 2018, when they were in League Two.

Luton Town Championship form: LWDDDL

Norwich City Championship form: WDWWWD

Team News

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Luton goalkeeper Simon Sluga injured his shoulder against Cardiff but was able to complete the game, yet there are doubts over whether he will be involved on Wednesday.

Elliott Lee and Joe Morrell could be among the players recalled to the starting lineup by Nathan Jones as he looks to shake things up following the defeat in South Wales.

Given Norwich's unprecedented injury list, Daniel Farke would have been cursing his luck when Max Aarons was forced off against Coventry with an ankle problem. However it is hoped that the right-back only suffered bruising, meaning he could feature at Kenilworth Road, along with Emiliano Buendia, who returns from suspension.

Lukas Rupp is also in contention for the game, having been poised to start at the weekend before straining his hamstring in training.

Luton Town possible starting lineup: Shea; Pearson, Lockyer, Bradley, Norrington-Davies; Morrell, Dewsbury-Hall, Mpanzu; Cornick, Collins, Lee

Norwich City possible starting lineup: McGovern; Aarons, Hanley, Gibson, Sorensen; Skipp, Rupp; Placheta, Vrancic, Martin; Buendia

We say: Luton Town 0-1 Norwich City

Both teams may go into this game simply wanting to avoid defeat – Luton after their thrashing at the hands of Cardiff, and Norwich due to their injury crisis. This could lead to a cagey encounter that is decided by one goal, which we think will go in favour of the table-topping visitors.

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