Luton v Wrexham – Pick: Luton – 10 May 2011

Luton Town entertain play-off rivals Wrexham in the second leg of their semi-final at their Kenilworth Road ground, and will be careful not to let an impressive 3 goal lead slip against the Welsh outfit.

The Hatters are seemingly on course to make the play-off final with their likely opponents being AFC Wimbledon who hold a 2-0 lead over their semi-final opponents Fleetwood Town. But both Luton and AFC Wimbledon will need to make sure of their final places with solid home performances.

Looking at Luton Town first; their home record during the regulation season was a most impressive 14-7-2 57/17, with only promoted Crawley Town losing the same amount of home matches. Striker Matthew Barnes-Homer (16 goals, 5 assists) leads the way although was on the bench in the first leg so may be rested for the final. Claude Gnapka (14 goals, 8 assists) has also found the net on a regular basis, along with Alex Lawless (4 goals, 6 assists), Robbie Willmott (6 goals, 4 assists) and Lloyd Owusu (6 goals).

With that kind of firepower at their disposal, the Hatters will be very hard to stop as they bid to make a return to the football league. Luton are also on a seven match unbeaten run at home.

Wrexham go into this match facing an uphill task as they travel to Bedfordshire trailing their opponents 0-3. The Dragons now have nothing to lose as they’ll look to attack Luton from the off and try and score an early goal to upset the nerves of the hosts.

The Dragons have had a much improved season compared to last term and manager Dean Saunders has done a fantastic job of lifting his Welsh outfit into the play-offs this time around. Also, credit to the board as many others would have lost patience with Saunders following a disappointing return last season.

Wrexham’s away record in the league season stood at 9-8-6 30/25, and won only once in their last six on the road. To make matters potentially worse for them is their recent track record at Kenilworth Road; the Dragons haven’t won there in their last four visits which consist of three straight losses and one draw.

Dragons striker Andrew Mangan (15 goals, 6 assists) is their leading scorer and will need to be watched closely I fancy. Midfielder Gareth Taylor (6 goals, 4 assists) and Jay Harris (4 goals, 5 assists) are also dangerous going forward.

The Verdict: Luton Town will not want to take their foot off the pedal here despite the temptation to play for a draw, and Wrexham will push forward in numbers searching for early goals; this in turn should create more space for Luton to counter-attack. Anyhow, the better team should still win tonight – Luton Town to win 2-1.

Main Pick: Luton Town @ 1.73 with William Hill or Ladbrokes