Luton manager's verdict on Leeds United clash and big injury boosts should be a warning for Daniel Farke
Leeds United are struggling at the minute and things couldn't be more different for their weekend hosts.
The games can’t come quick enough for Matt Bloomfield whose relegation-threatened Luton Town side are ‘really looking forward’ to hosting Leeds United this weekend.
Luton are in the bottom three with seven games to go but three wins in five has given them a fighting chance of avoiding back-to-back relegations. Those chances are helped by the fact Bloomfield’s side have beaten close rivals Cardiff City and Hull in recent weeks, the latter a 1-0 win at the MKM Stadium on Saturday.
The Hatters needed a comical Alfie Jones own goal to take all three points but have now lost just one of their last four with Bloomfield, who replaced Rob Edwards at Kenilworth Road in January, starting to stamp his identity on the squad. And it appears momentum is starting to build just in time for Leeds’ Saturday lunchtime trip down south.
Luton ‘confidence’ going into Leeds United clash
“It’s huge [to take three points from another relegation rival],” Bloomfield told Luton’s website following Saturday’s win at Hull. “We knew that going to Cardiff and we knew that coming here today, it was a really big game.
“We have to play it down before the game because we have to stay calm in our work. But to get three points today, and the confidence that will bring. There’s a spring in everybody’s step and we can really look forward to Leeds at home next week.”
Leeds’ trajectory has been going the other way in recent weeks, with a perfect five wins from five in February followed by one win from five through March. Saturday’s 2-2 draw at home to Swansea City came in crushing fashion due to a 96th-minute Zan Vipotnik equaliser, with Daniel Farke’s side only ahead of third-placed Burnley by virtue of a superior goal difference.
Injury boosts improving the mood at Luton
Luton’s uptick in form has certainly lifted the mood around Kenilworth Road, with the strugglers previously looking destined for a drop into League One following a 12-game winless run between Boxing Day and the start of March. The Hatters took three points in that period before winning 10 from their last five.
That improving mood has been aided by the return to fitness of key players. Reece Burke enjoyed his first start since November at right wing-back on Saturday and was replaced at half-time by Tahith Chong, who hadn’t been involved at all since January. And January signing from Middlesbrough Isaiah Jones also looks to be closing in on a return ahead of Saturday.
“They’re big players for this football club and they’ve missed a lot of football this year,” Bloomfield added of the trio. “That’s not an easy thing for a football club to deal with when big players are missing big chunks of time. Unfortunately Izzy [Isaiah Jones] wasn’t quite ready to go today so we knew we had to split the minutes between Burkey and Chongy... But they’re big players for us and there’s competition for places.”
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