Luton Town, 15th in the preliminary Premier League table with 13 points, host Tottenham Hotspur in Saturday’s early kick-off at Kenilworth Road, where the visitors can go top with a win.
The Hatters beat Burnley 2-1 in midweek, while Spurs beat Liverpool by the same goal thanks to the club’s already infamous VAR.
Match preview
Going into the delayed match with Burnley on cloud nine after scoring their first Premier League tally away to Everton at the weekend, Rob Edwards’ Luton Town were given a tough reception at Kenilworth Road by a Clarets side also chasing their first top-flight season.
Lyle Foster’s strike on the stroke of half-time saw Vincent Kompany’s attacks go into the break well and while Elijah Adebayo looked to have done enough to secure a point for the Hatters against their newly promoted opponents, Burnley were relieved. 65 seconds later, Jacob Bruun scored through Larsen. The failure to put Burnley to the sword means Luton are now the first team in 13 years to fail to win any of their opening three Premier League games – doomed Blackpool’s 2010-11 crop were the latest victims of such run, but hopeful Edwards in particular had no show on the other side, not one bad word to say about your bravery.
Despite picking up just one point from nine bids at Kenilworth Road this season, Luton remain above the dotted line in 17th place thanks to a superior goal difference to 18th-placed Burnley, which Hatters fans would surely welcome. the curtain closes in May.
However, the hosts have now gone nine games in all competitions without keeping a single clean sheet this season and a fresh defensive injury blow offers no guarantees ahead of the visit of a Tottenham side whose two-goal run has been extended under Ange Postecoglou. the most controversial circumstances of the year.
Despite having two extra men on the pitch due to controversial red cards for Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota, Tottenham – who drew level before Cody Gakpo’s Son Heung-min equalizer – found it impossible to penetrate a well-organised Reds unit, down to one Jürgen. . Klopp’s long-time defenders did all the hard work for his side in the immediate aftermath of his death.
In the last attack of the game, Joel Matip stretched out a leg to keep Pedro Porro’s cross safe, but the Cameroonian could only hit the ball into the roof of his own net, sparking wild celebrations in north London before PGMOL found themselves in the middle . of the scandal. Just two minutes before Son’s opener, Luis Diaz scored a goal that was wrongly ruled out by linesman and VAR official Darren England. He made a “significant human error” at Stockley Park and Liverpool manager Klopp publicly called for the match to be replayed after England’s inexplicable cheating.
The German’s stunning plea may fall on deaf ears, but as for Tottenham, the Lilywhites have been quietly going about their business in training amid the latest VAR storm, sitting pretty second in the table and just one point behind Manchester City. which they will skip—at least for a day—if they can beat the Hatters here.
The jury is still out on Tottenham’s title, but Matip’s wild slice means the north London club have still scored at least twice in every Premier League game under Postecoglou, taking Spurs to their first meeting with Luton since 1992. where the two sides played out a third consecutive 0-0 draw at Kenilworth Road
Team news
After just 21 minutes of Luton’s defeat to Burnley, the Hatters lost regular centre-back Amari Bell with a hamstring problem, although Edwards hopes the Jamaican international has avoided serious injury.
In any case, Reece Burke should be in the back row this weekend as he looks to put his groin problem behind him, while Albert Sambi Lokonga (thigh), Gabriel Osho (knee), Dan Potts (ankle) and Jordan Clark (ankle) remain out. .
On the bright side, Ross Barkley could potentially return with his hamstring problem as he has continued to train in recent days, while Adebayo certainly has reason to get the nod ahead of Jacob Brown in the final third. Postecoglou sympathizes with Edwards over fresh fitness concerns, with the Australian left-back’s options further limited by a knee injury to Manor Solomon, who is looking at two months out with a torn meniscus.
Ivan Perisic (ACL), Ryan Sessegnon (thigh), Alfie Whiteman (ankle), Rodrigo Bentancur (knee) and Giovani Lo Celso (thigh) welcome Solomon in a cramped treatment room, while Brennan Johnson’s hamstring problem requires a one-off treatment alongside Bryan. Gil has now been announced as returning to groin surgery training.
But Solomon’s ordeal will have little effect on Postecoglou’s recognizable first XI and Richarlison should continue to feed Filo down the left flank after linking them effectively last weekend.
Possible starting line-up for Luton Town:
Kaminsky; Kabore, Burke, Lockyer, Mengi, Doughty; Nakamba, Mpanzu; Ogbene, Adebayo; Morris
Possible starting line-up for Tottenham Hotspur:
vicar; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Maddison, Richarlison; Son
We say: Luton Town 0:3 Tottenham Hotspur
With the last three meetings between Luton and Tottenham at the Hatters’ ground ending without a single wave of the net, Postecoglou’s goal-happy side should have no problem navigating past Edwards’ leaky rearguard.
Wednesday’s fatigue and Bell’s injury should also play a part in a punishing afternoon for the hosts, with Tottenham temporarily going top of the league with a couple of goals. Click here to analyze the most likely results, points and other data of this match.
Top tip
Our expert tips partners at Sporita.com are predicting an away win in this game. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and more of their proven football tips.
