PREVIEW: Luton Town v Swindon Town

The club are looking to back up their efforts from last term, which saw them finish eighth in the division, but have been fairly quiet in the transfer market over the summer.

They did capture Liverpool full-back Brad Smith and Southampton defender Jordan Turnbull on season-long loan deals, with Derby defender Josh Lelan also joining for a month.

Oldham midfielder Anton Rodgers, son of Liverpool manager Brendan, penned a permanent deal with the Robins, who had released the likes of Dany N’Guessan, Aaron Oakley and Jay McEveley over the summer too.

Keeping hold of star midfielder Massimo Luongo appears top of boss Mark Cooper’s list this month, as chairman Lee Power confirmed he had recently rejected a £600,000 bid from Rotherham for the 21-year-old midfielder.

The Australian international signed from Tottenham Hotspur for £400,000 last year, and was off the mark for Swindon in their opening day triumph.

It’s also been reported that Swindon have turned down a bid for defender Nathan Thompson from Peterborough too.

Team news: Luton will still be without Jonathan Smith, Shaun Whalley, Alex Lawless and Andy Parry for the clash after Town boss John Still confirmed on Tuesday they won’t return in time.

Luke Guttridge is fit again though, while Still admitted he might be tempted in to making a few changes for the tie.

Swindon will be without Anton Rodgers, after he was injured in the warm-up against Scunthorpe on Saturday.

Defender Josh Lelan has not been given permission to play by parent club Derby, so Raphael Branco is expected to start alongside Nathan Thompson and Jordan Turnbull at the heart of the Robins’ defence.

Swindon boss Mark Cooper has confirmed he won’t be making huge changes either, telling the Swindon Advertiser: “It is a money-spinner because you could win one game and get Man United away, which is straight away probably a million pounds.

“I’m sure that we could do with that so I’m sure we will be going all guns blazing, trying to get in the hat.

“It’s going to be a test and it’ll be interesting to see how they react to it, but I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that we’ll react to it positively.”

Man in the middle: Graham Scott - has taken one game this season, the Cambridge v Plymouth League Two clash on Saturday.

Last campaign, he was in charge of 33 games, mainly in the Championship, brandishing 104 yellow cards and 11 reds.

He previously took Luton back in the 2008-09 season when Hatters were held 1-1 at home by Morecambe.

In charge: Mark Cooper, 45-year-old, who enjoyed a 22-year playing career, with spells at 17 clubs including Bristol City, Exeter City, Birmingham and Fulham.

At the start of the 2003–04 season, Cooper was appointed player/assistant manager at Tamworth and moved up to manager following the departure of Darron Gee for the 2004–05 campaign.

Left by mutual consent in January 2007 and was named Kettering Town boss in May 2007, before his success there earned a big move to manage Peterborough in November 2009.

Only lasted 13 games at London Road as he was sacked in February 2010 after just one win, but was back as Darlington boss in June 2010.

Dismissed from the club in October 2011 and was appointed Kettering Town caretaker boss in January 2012, but left after one game.

Cooper then took charge at AFC Telford United in January 2013, before after just five games, moved to Swindon as assistant to Kevin MacDonald.

When MacDonald left, Cooper assumed charge on August 20, 2013, leading the club to eighth place last season.

View from the opposition: Cooper, talking to the Swindon Advertiser: “It’ll be tough. They had a very good result (on Saturday). John Still’s teams are always really, really hard to play against. They’re really fit, really organised.

“Kenilworth Road is a difficult, hostile place to play and I’m sure they’ll make it really difficult for us. We’ll go and try to plan and do what we do.

“They’ve been too long out of the Football League. They’ve had a succession of managers, they’ve eventually got the right one and they’ll probably go from strength to strength now because they get big crowds, it’s historically a big club and I’m sure they’ll fly up the league.

“John is a nice guy. He’s a brilliant manager. His teams are always difficult to play against and I expect nothing different on Tuesday at Kenilworth Road.”

One to watch: Striker Michael Smith, 22, finished as the club’s leading scorer despite only joining in January from Charlton.

Bagged 10 goals in 21 appearances and has started this season in form, netting twice in the 3-1 win on Saturday.

Started life at Darlington before moving to the Addicks but was loaned out to Accrington, Newport, Colchester and AFC Dons, scoring regularly at all his destinations.

Friendly faces: Hatters have three ex-Swindon players in their squad, Paul Benson, Luke Rooney and Jonathan Smith, with the latter helping Robins to promotion from League Two in 2011-12.

Benson was released from the County Ground in the summer after spending last season on loan at Luton. He notched 15 goals in 39 games during his two years stay with Swindon, which saw spells at Portsmouth and Cheltenham too.

Smith was signed by the Robins for £30,000 from York and played 48 times in his year-long stay, netting three times before moving back to the Minstermen.

Rooney signed at the County Ground from Gillingham and spent 18 months there, playing 32 times, scoring twice, although he was loaned out to Burton and Rotherham.

Meanwhile, Swindon mdifielder Yaser Kasim had an unproductive loan stint at Kenilworth Road when Paul Buckle was in charge. Made 11 appearances and scored once in the 2-1 win at Tamworth, but was sent back to his then parent club Brighton.

We’ve got form: Overall, Hatters have a far superior record against Swindon at Kenilworth Road, with 21 wins from 34 meetings, drawing six and losing seven, scoring 75 goals and conceding 39.

However, in recent years, the Robins have enjoyed some fine results, as Hatters have won six, drawn six and lost six of the last 15 meetings.

There have been some notable victories for Town, including 6-2 and 5-3 successes, while the biggest triumph was 6-0 in Division Three South back in the 1931-32 season, when Tommy Tait (5) and Fred Kean were on target.

Last time out: Hatters fell to a 1-0 home defeat against the Robins in their last meeting at Kenilworth Road, a League One clash back in January 2008, Christian Roberts netting the winner shortly after the break.

Hatters: Dean Brill, Alan Goodall, Richard Jackson, Chris Perry, Keith Keane, David Bell, Matthew Spring, Darren Currie (Dean Morgan 46), Drew Talbot (Stephen O’Leary 64), Calvin Andrew (Sam Parkin 46), Paul Furlong.

Subs not used: Marlon Beresford, Don Hutchison.

Referee: Carl Boyeson.

Attendance: 5,738.