Town play their final friendly of pre-season against Ligue 1 side AJ Auxerre at their Stade de l’Abbé-Deschamps this evening (KO 6pm local time, 5pm BST).
The Blues go into the match, which is being screened live on TownTV, having won all their public friendlies up to now, a 4-1 win away against Austrian side Blau-Weiß Linz at the end of their training camp, a 3-1 victory against Aberdeen at Pittodrie last Friday and then the 2-1 defeat of Charlton at Colchester’s JobServe Community Stadium on Tuesday.
Town are likely to field a team which could be close to the XI which starts the Championship campaign at Birmingham City next Friday, having started what would be viewed as more of a fringe side against the Addicks.
Alex Palmer, who was rested on Tuesday, will probably come back in goal with Ben Johnson and Leif Davis the full-backs and Dara O’Shea - again presumably wearing the captain’s armband - and Jacob Greaves - assuming he is over the illness which saw him miss Tuesday’s match - the centre-halves.
Azor Matusiwa and Jack Taylor will probably be at the centre of midfield with Jaden Philogene, Sammie Szmodics and Jack Clarke the three behind lone striker George Hirst.
Omari Hutchinson and recent signing Ashley Young will probably play a part in the second half having started pre-season late along with most of the rest of the squad.
Harry Clarke won’t be involved having suffered a leg injury which could potentially keep him out for some time, while Wes Burns is still a couple of months away from match involvement.
Auxerre, who finished 11th in Ligue 1 last season, have played three friendlies so far. They defeated third-tier side US Orleans 2-1 at home, then won 3-2 away against Ligue 2 Clermont Foot, before a 0-0 draw with fellow top-flight side Grenoble Foot 38.
After the game against the Blues, they still have one more friendly, at home to Spanish La Liga side Levante before their season proper gets under way when they host Lorient in just over a fortnight.
One player in the Auxerre squad has actually worn a Town shirt. Reading-born former Luton Town central defender Gabriel Osho had a trial with the Blues in October 2019.
Then aged 20 and with his hometown club, Osho featured in a 2-1 U23s victory over Coventry at Portman Road. You can read more about the Auxerre squad in a TWTD Blog here.
Yesterday, the Town U21s were in town, beating their AJ Auxerre counterparts 2-1 in a friendly, Tudor Mendel netting both goals for John McGreal’s side.
It’s the second time in two summers that the Town first team has faced French opposition having hosted OGC Nice at Portman Road in the final warm-up match ahead of 2024/25, Town running out 1-0 winners via what would prove to be Axel Tuanzebe’s only home goal for the club.