Luton Town will continue their preparations for the 2022-23 campaign with a pre-season contest against Slovenian outfit NK Bravo on Friday.
The Hatters recorded a 3-0 victory over Hitchin Town in their opening friendly of the summer on July 1, while Bravo have played three non-competitive fixtures over the last couple of weeks in preparation for their new campaign.
Match preview
Bravo are working towards the start of their Slovenian PrvaLiga campaign on July 18, with the team playing three friendlies thus far this summer, starting with a 2-1 defeat to Red Star Belgrade on June 24.
Four days later, the Slovenian outfit recorded a 2-1 victory over Cuckariki, while they played out a 1-1 draw with Rijeka on July 1 and are now preparing to face English opposition in the shape of Championship side Luton.
Dejan Grabic's side, who were only founded in 2006, finished fifth in Slovenia's top flight last season, picking up 49 points from their 36 matches, which saw them just fail to qualify for European football.
Bravo previously faced Luton in a pre-season clash back in July 2017, suffering a 6-2 loss to the English side, and they will view this fixture as valuable preparation for the return of competitive action.
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Luton, meanwhile, opened their pre-season with a 3-0 victory over Hitchin Town on July 1, and they will play a lot of football before their first Championship game of the season.
Indeed, the Hatters will face Northampton Town, Huddersfield Town, Peterborough United and West Ham United in their four matches after this one before welcoming Birmingham City in their opening Championship fixture on July 30.
Luton finished sixth in the Championship last season, impressively making the playoffs, but they lost 2-1 to Huddersfield Town in the semi-finals and will therefore again be in the second tier next term.
Nathan Jones's side, who have been in a training camp in Slovenia since last weekend, have been busy this summer in terms of incomings, with Matt Macey, Luke Freeman, Cauley Woodrow, Alfie Doughty, Louie Watson and Ethan Horvath arriving at the club.
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Team News
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Bravo boss Grabic will be looking to make full use of his squad in this match, so it is difficult to predict a starting side for the Slovenian outfit, but there could be a spot in the XI for new signing Luka Stor.
Loren Maruzin is also in line to feature in the final third of the field, while Gasper Trdin and Nsana Simon are set to play in midfield for the Ljubljana-based outfit.
As for Luton, Jones is again expected to use different XIs in each half, with the head coach determined to get as many minutes in the legs of his players as possible.
Doughty, Macey and Woodrow were all involved in the clash with Hitchin, and the trio should feature once again, while Freeman could also be used following his arrival on a free transfer.
Dan Potts and Cameron Jerome were both on the scoresheet in the first half of the team's last pre-season clash and might retain their spots in the XI for Friday's encounter.
Bravo possible starting lineup:
Vekic; Kavcic, Trontelj, Jaksic, Vodeb; Trdin, Simon, Kramaric; Maruzin, Memic, Stor
Luton Town possible starting lineup:
Isted; Burke, Osho, Potts, Thorpe; Lansbury, Clark, Pereira, Doughty; Jerome, Woodrow
We say: Bravo 0-2 Luton Town
Luton will be determined to put another victory on the board here, and we are fully expecting the Championship side to triumph. Bravo are further ahead in their preparations for the new season, but the difference in quality is likely to be apparent on Friday.
Matt Law
