TipResumen

WEST BROM

Finishing bottom of the Premier League didn't just mean relegation for West Brom last season but it also means they are the only one of the three clubs that went down into the Championship who have to play in the First Round of the League Cup. That may not be a long-term concern for any club that is relegated out of the Premier League, but does mean Darren Moore has to negotiate an extra match. To say it has been a busy start to the season is not an understatement as West Brom play their fourth match in under two weeks. That is tough coupled with having the mentality of the players being knocked after relegation, but so far The Baggies have done well enough in the early goings. The League Cup has not been a great competition for West Brom in recent years, but they did reach the Third Round last season. West Brom were beaten by Bolton Wanderers on the opening weekend of the season, but that is only the 2nd loss they have suffered in their last 9 games in all competitions. They ended last season with 3 games unbeaten at The Hawthorns, but return here for the first time since the loss on the opening weekend. There will be changes made to the starting eleven with some depth available to Darren Moore despite relegation from the Premier League.



LUTON TOWN

It had been a long fall for a famous old club as Luton Town exited the Football League, but they have recovered and now they look to be making a move in the right direction back up the League pyramid. League One Football is going to be tough to deal with for The Hatters after earning promotion last season, but they have shown enough in performances against Portsmouth and Sunderland to have some belief in their chances of at least avoiding relegation back to League Two. The League Cup will offer Luton Town fans a nice distraction for one evening as they visit a club that were in the Premier League just a few months ago. In recent years they have faced some quality teams in the League Cup, but Luton Town have found themselves mainly coming up short, although they did beat Aston Villa 3-1 a couple of years ago. Luton Town have failed to win either of their first 2 games played this season and that means they have a single win from their last 5 games going back to last season. One area of concern for Luton Town fans will be the fact that they have only won 1 of their last 9 away games with the majority of those being played at the League Two level.



HEAD TO HEAD

West Brom took four points from Luton Town when these teams met in the 2006/07 season with both clubs playing in the Championship. Kevin Phillips scored two late goals to help West Brom beat Luton Town 3-2 at The Hawthorns that season and The Baggies have won 3 of their last 4 at home against this opponent.



PREDICTION

The League Cup can be tough to read in the early Rounds but my feeling in this one is that Darren Moore is going to believe his West Brom team need to recover from losing their first game at The Hawthorns in the League. Over the last twelve months it hasn't been much fun for West Brom to play in front of their own fans and rebuilding the rapport between fans and players will be key to any promotion bid back to the Premier League. Losing to a side from League One will not be the way to do that though and so I have a feeling that West Brom could have a decent team starting in a bid to win and build the atmosphere for the home League game this weekend. Luton Town won't roll over but they are facing a tough task here. Just a few months ago this would have been a fixture against a Premier League team while Luton Town were in League Two so there is the gap in quality to take into consideration. Add in the fact that Luton Town have won 1 of their last 9 away games going back to their time in League Two and they were beaten at Portsmouth in their opening day fixture and I think it is a big task for them to win here. The Hatters did beat Aston Villa a couple of years ago in the League Cup, but that was at home and their last couple of exits have come against clubs from the Championship in Leeds United and Ipswich Town. I expect West Brom to become the latest to do that and will back them on the Asian Handicap.