Luton pre match chat
A topsy-turvy end to end match in South Wales ended in a dramatic late winner from substitute Willy Gnonto which sent us for the first time since we beat Millwall in March and only the 2nd time since relegation to the top of the Championship on goal difference.
A welcome win on the road allows us to return to Elland Road on Wednesday with the opportunity of solidifying our record as the best home side in the league vs Rob Edwards struggling Luton Town.
It's been a difficult return to this league for the hatters with 8 defeats already this season the joint most in the league.
This has lead to sections of the Luton fanbase calling for the sacking of manager Rob Edwards.
However a little improvement with 2 wins and 1 draw in the last 4 and they are 1 of only 2 teams to have beaten Millwall at home and also took a point off WBA in Luton with WBA the best away side in the league this season statistically
So small shoots of recovery perhaps?
In terms of style they tend to play a back 3 with a variation in front of it.
Sometimes a straight midfield 3 with 2 natural wing backs supporting powerful striking pair Carlton Morris and Elijah Adebayo.
Other times it's a midfield 2 with talented attacking midfielder Tahith Chong playing off the front 2 which can sometimes mean versatile Jacob Brown playing as a support striker as well instead of Morris or Adebayo.
And then sometimes Chong even plays as a wing back.
But they rarely switch from the back 3 system, 2 wing backs and 2 strikers ((atleast on paper) no matter what.
They are not a possession side so don't expect much challenge on that score.
They do however usually press high and snap into tackles and be physical.
They are direct, they are happy to go long and get the ball into the box as quickly as they can (5th most touches in the box despite the lack of possession) and have a heavy reliance on crosses.
The downside though as they have found to their cost a few times this season is if the press can be played around as Coventry did to them (managing 26 shots and a win) and Boro did to them and scored 5 goals or if it can be gone over as Burnley did very successfully early season and beat them 4-1 then they are very vulnerable.
Only 1 team has conceded more than Luton this season for a reason.
However it can be very successful as can they as they showed when they won promotion and our slow possession based style could be an area where the press is a problem for us.
As Swansea showed at times today we can be harassed into mistakes and Luton will certainly try.
However we are as we showed today at times a team capable of cutting a side open if they over commit.
Key players the aforementioned front 2 of Carlton Morris and Elijah Adebayo are a powerful and mobile threat not lacking in quality (21 goals between them in the Prem). 2 big strong mobile strikers.
The crossing and set pieces delivery of wing back
Alfie Doughty has been a fruitful source of goals for them over the years and again this season (4 assists).
And attacking midfielder Tahith Chong is a bit of an enigma, capable of real quality with his dribbling skills and flair but lacks consistency.
For ourselves a pleasing win vs Swansea leaves hs with a warm glow but the same pre match questions occur.
Has Solomon done enough to keep his place? Would the added size and experience of Guilavogui be useful against a large and physical Luton side?