Will Ismaila Sarr play? Is Hassane Kamara returning after injury? Does Hamza Choudhury come straight back in after his suspension?

There’s only one man who knows all the answers, and Watford head coach Chris Wilder wasn’t giving much away when he spoke to the press this morning at London Colney.

“I’ve never seen managers name their team in media conferences, so I’m certainly not going to do anybody any favours,” he said.

“I don’t think there will be any big surprises.”

When he was asked if Luton’s direct style and use of two big strikers placed emphasis on the performance of his three central defenders, Wilder continued to be coy.

“Everybody has to play well – are we playing three centre halves?! Are we playing a three?!” he smiled.

“There is an onus on everybody in the team, and each person in the squad has a part to play.

“Whether we play a back two or a back three, every player in each position has to play their part because we are going into their back yard.

“Luton will recognise that we’ve got players who can hurt them, and it’s game on. It’s one of those games that you should want to be involved in.”

From where Watford were at the start of 2023 – when they had 16 players unavailable and the team virtually picked itself – the fact there are questions about who plays and who doesn’t is something Wilder relishes.

“It’s important that we have the opportunity to have decent strength in depth,” he said.

“That means we have that competitive aspect to team selection, and I want to be making difficult decisions.

“I’m not a manager that wants to take the easy road, name a team and not have selection problems.

“I want people knocking on my door, wanting to play and wanting to be involved in games like this one. I want players who want to pull the shirt on and give a great individual performance and be part of a great team performance.

“We have great individuals but we need more than that. We need a big team effort and that’s the players, me and my staff, and our supporters.”

Although Luton themselves have changed manager from Nathan Jones to Rob Edwards, they still play to their strengths and are one of the more direct teams in the Championship.

“Everybody has their own way and there’s no right or wrong way of playing football. I’m dealing with the players I have at my disposal to try and get the result we all want,” said Wilder.

“We all know we have to win individual battles and duals. We’ve got to win headers, tackles and races in order for us to be able to play.

“I understand what’s coming tomorrow and that’s been reflected in what I’ve said to the players. The clarity of the message is there to allow them to take it on board.

“They know what tomorrow is about, they know what’s coming and they know what they’ve got to do to handle it.

“Everything will be used to try and get a psychological advantage but what counts is what happens when the ball rolls.”

The Watford head coach is no stranger to games away at Luton.

“I’ve played at Kenilworth Road and I’ve managed at Kenilworth Road. I know Mick Harford, I know Gary Brabin, I know John Still. I have a lot of connections there and I know it’ll be a tough afternoon for us.

“But it’s an afternoon we’re looking forward to because it’s a big game at an important stage in the season. It’s a big derby, and we have the need for three points to try and push ourselves into those play-off places.

“I am 100% focussed on us and what we can do. We have players who have produced big performances in the past during their careers. Tomorrow we need them to come together and deliver a big team performance.”

Naturally, the media probed Wilder on the fact he is facing a team managed by someone who started the season managing Watford.

“There’s no doubt Rob will be the centre of everything, even though he’ll try to diffuse that in his interviews. There’s a story there, we know that.

“Rob is a good guy. He’ll be disappointed about what happened here and he’ll be wanting, just like every Luton player and fan, a result that goes for him.”