Football League Two 5th placed side Bury host Luton Town, who are placed 3rd in League One in one of Sunday’s 2nd round FA Cup fixtures at the Gigg lane. Both sides are in free-scoring form if their last games are to be considered. Luton and Bury both scored 4 goals against Bradford and Cheltenham respectively to notch victories in their leagues.
Bury are in imperious form and have been banging in the goals in the month of November scoring 22 goals last month and recording 5 wins and a draw in the last 6 games in all competitions. November began with a 4-1 defeat of Macclesfield followed by a 5-0 win over Dover in the first round of the FA Cup. Their Checkatrade Trophy outing ended in a 3-1 win over Fleetwood while Stevenage was on the end of a 4-0 thrashing in the league in the middle of the month. The only points dropped was away at Cambridge United in a 2-2 draw while they returned to winning ways last Thursday in a 4-1 drubbing of Cheltenham.
The Shakers suffered relegation last season but have banished the ghost of that heartbreak by putting in performances that has lifted them to 5th and in within a shout of promotion back to League One. It has to be said though that the situation looked a bit bleak after Bury failed to win in the following 5 games after the opening day 1-0 win over Yeovil.
Ryan Lowe’s front foot approach has seen Bury seek to dominate games instead of waiting for oppositions to react. This style is bearing fruits aplenty with the number of goals scored and the wins recorded so far. They have scored 4 goals in each of their last 2 home games and are also unbeaten in 5 at the lane. They are averaging a stunning 1.98 goals at home which says a lot about their attacking potential.
Luton are no pushovers either and as the 3rd placed team in League One, they have 4 wins from the last 6 in all competitions with 1 draw and a loss. The Hatters qualified for the 2nd round via a 2-0 win over Wycombe Wanderers with goals from Andrew Shinnie and James Collins. The Hatters are only one place beneath automatic qualification places and are the highest scorers in the league with 39 goals in 20 league games. Elliot Lee is responsible for 10 of those goals, James Collins has 7 while Danny Hylton has 5.
Nathan Jones side are on a 3-match winning streak beating Bradford, Gillingham and Plymouth 4-0, 3-1 and 5-1 respectively in the league. Luton have 19 wins to Bury’s 14 in the head-to-head record while the last 3 meetings have seen 1 win, 1 draw and a loss for either side.
Team News
Luke Berry is training again but may not be risked for this one while Kazenga LuaLua is a minor doubt for the game.
Bury striker Jermaine Beckford remains out with a knee injury and is the only injury concern for Ryan Lowe.
Verdict
Both sides are scoring freely at the moment so there is strong evidence for a high scoring game. Luton are a better team at home than on the road this season and Bury have conceded the fewest shots in League Two. All in all, this game could swing either way but Bury looks likelier to bury their opponents on Sunday.
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