Battle for places in the centre

Last updated : 10 March 2009 By Dane Vincent

Goal get 'em: Butcher will be hoping to keep his place tonight.
Adam Nowland looks set to shake off a back problem to return to the squad for tonight's clash with Luton Town.

He will be hopeful of regaining his place after some fine performances in midfield over the past few weeks.

However, Richard Butcher returned to goal scoring form against Shrewsbury last Saturday making Ian McParland's job of selecting a pairing a very tough one.

There is also the option of reverting John Thompson to the centre of defence considering that the team shipped three goals in their last match.

Matthew Hamshaw may return to the right wing to restore some balance following his comeback from the bench.

The only player left sidelined is Russell Hoult (shoulder) who is expecting to return over the next couple of weeks.

With nearly a full roster to choose from, McParland is hoping that his side can continue their impressive home form.

"We have turned it around at home but we can't count our chickens," said Notts' boss speaking to the Nottingham Evening Post.

"We have won four out of our last five and we could also have beaten Chesterfield.

"We have got three games coming up and I hope we can win all three."

He added: "I always knew if we kept plugging away, playing our football and creating chances we would do it."

"All of our chances against Port Vale and Bradford went in and we hit the back of the net at good times against Barnet.

"For some reason the home form has been atrocious over the years and if you cannot do well at home you are always going to struggle.

"It is tough enough to win home games; it's even tougher to win games away from home."

Should County overcome the Hatters, it would be their first midweek win in the league in nearly two-and-a-half years.

Tonight is a good chance to break this hoodoo with the visitors suffering injuries to Rossi Jarvis (knee), George Pilkington (metatarsal), Lewis Emanuel (knee) and the club's captain Kevin Nicholls (hamstring).