Luton Town v Aston Villa: EFL Cup first round preview – 10 August
Around this time last year, Luton took Stoke City to the limit in the second round of the League Cup, eventually missing out on penalties against the Premier League side.
They may not be facing a top flight team this time, but the Sky Sports cameras will be back at Kenilworth Road to see if the Hatters can cause an upset against arguably the biggest name they could have drawn at this stage.
Their preparation for the tie couldn't have gone much better, as they opened their season with an extremely impressive 3-0 win at Plymouth Argyle last Saturday.
Aston Villa, however, couldn't make a winning start the following day, as Fernando Forestieri's late goal condemned them to a 1-0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday in what was their first match in the second tier for 28 years.
Head to head results: Luton and Aston Villa have played each other 38 times, with the Villains winning the first meeting 1-0 at Villa Park in the second round of the FA Cup in January 1922.
The Hatters have actually had the edge over their illustrious opponents in the years that have followed, winning 18 games, losing 15 with the other five matches drawn.
Aston Villa have travelled to Kenilworth Road on 18 previous occasions and the Hatters have tended to make the trip miserable for them, winning 12 games, drawing four and losing just two, while scoring 25 goals and conceding 11.
Referee: Gavin Ward
Referee 2015/16 stats: 35 matches, 113 yellow cards, two red cards. Ward took charge of two Luton games last season – their 2-1 defeat against Crawley in October and their 0-0 draw at Portsmouth in December.
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