Football League World
·23 May 2023
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·23 May 2023
Former Luton Town defender Curtis Davies is expecting a tight game in the Championship play-off final against Coventry City, but is hoping to see the Hatters win promotion.
Rob Edwards' side booked their place at Wembley after overturning a 2-1 deficit from the first leg against Sunderland with a 2-0 win at Kenilworth Road last Tuesday night, with goals from Gabriel Osho and Tom Lockyer sealing their progression to the final.
The Hatters, who finished third in the table during the regular season, have lost just one of their last 16 games and are aiming to return to the top flight for the first time since 1992.
Coventry ensured their spot in the final with a 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough at the Riverisde Stadium on Wednesday night.
After a goalless draw in the first leg at the Coventry Building Society Arena, it was an equally tense affair on Teesside, with Gustavo Hamer's superb second half strike winning the tie for the Sky Blues.
Mark Robins' men also come into the game in excellent form having lost just one of their last 19 matches and victory on Saturday will see them return to the Premier League for the first time since 2001.
Davies, who was recently released by League One side Derby County, began his career at Kenilworth Road, making 62 appearances for the Hatters between 2003 and 2005.
The 38-year-old says he is hoping to see his former club win promotion this weekend, but revealed he is expecting a tight encounter.
"I'm just interested for the final and I think because both teams are maybe in dreamland, not expecting to be one game away from the Premier League, it'll be very much a chess match early on," Davies said on the What the EFL?! podcast.
"Teams will be feeling each other out just to see where they are at, but it only takes one magic moment and all of a sudden the game turns upside down, on it's head and I'm hoping that moment happens for Luton Town."
Davies is right that it will likely be an evenly-matched affair at Wembley on Saturday.
Luton's physicality and aerial strength caused huge problems for a Sunderland side with no fit centre-backs in the second leg, but Luke McNally, Kyle McFadzean and Callum Doyle will be much better equipped to deal with the threats of the likes of Carlton Morris and Elijah Adebayo.
The Sky Blues produced an excellent defensive performance against Boro and if they can reproduce that display, they have a strong chance of winning the game, particularly with the quality of Hamer and Viktor Gyokeres up front.
It is incredibly difficult to call with so little to separate the sides and it could come down to who handles the pressure of the occasion.