Luton welcome back quartet including Arsenal loanee Lokonga for Bees clash

Luton boss Rob Edwards has sprung a major surprise when naming his Luton XI to face Brentford this afternoon, with Sambi Lokonga, Gabe Osho and Teden Mengi all back in the starting line-up.

Lokonga has been absent since coming off in the 4-1 defeat at Liverpool in February, missing the last nine games in all competitions, with Osho out since he picked up an injury in the closing stages of the 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace on March 9.

Mengi's absence was only one game, the 5-1 loss at Manchester City on Saturday, as Issa Kabore also returns having been ineligible at the Etihad last weekend, the quartet replacing Luke Berry, Daiki Hashioka, Fred Onyedinma and Andros Townsend, who all drop to the bench.

Brentford are without star striker Ivan Toney for the match due to injury, as Edwards wants his side to put right the performance when beaten 3-1 in the reverse fixture earlier in the campaign, saying: “We were a little bit too passive that night and I made a little bit of vow then to myself and to us that we’re going to be what I want us to be and what I think we need to be to get wins in this league and to perform and compete in this league.

"I think from then, that Arsenal game, we did that and have done that really well and I think that’s really when you’ve seen the true us. We recognise the importance of it, there’s no doubt about that now and we know it’s business time and we must be getting results. We put that pressure on them last time and we were able to produced a really good performance, a brilliant second half performance and a win, so we know how important it is.”

Hatters: Thomas Kaminski, Issa Kabore, Reece Burke, Teden Mengi, Gabe Osho, Alfie Doughty, Sambi Lokonga, Ross Barkley, Jordan Clark, Tahith Chong, Carlton Morris (C). Subs not used: James Shea, Tim Krul, Joe Johnson, Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu, Daiki Hashioka, Andros Townsend, Fred Onyedinma, Luke Berry, Cauley Woodrow.

Bees: Mark Flekken, Ethan Pinnock, Mathias Jensen (C), Yoanne Wissa, Sergio Reguilon, Bryan Mbeumo, Kristoffer Ajar, Nathan Collins, Keane Lewis-Potter, Mikkel Damsgaard, Vitaly Janelt. Subs not used: Thomas Strakosha, Christian Norgaard, Neal Maupay, Kevin Schade, Zanka, Saman Ghoddos, Frank Onyeka, Mads Roerslev, Yehor Yarmoliuk. Referee: Jarred Gillett. Referee: John Brookes.