It’s all go for Manchester City, who are in a three-way battle for Premier League supremacy and drew 3–3 in a crazy UEFA Champions League classic midweek against Real Madrid. Pep Guardiola’s team must maintain their pressure, though, as they trail both Arsenal and Liverpool by a point in the English Premier League. They defeated Crystal Palace 4-2 last Saturday to extend their winning streak to 16 league games (W12, D4).
There will be high expectations among the Citizens supporters because their team has defeated both of the other promoted teams here this season by a margin of two goals. Additionally, City has not lost at home in the league since early November 2022 (W21, D6). And in City’s most recent game at the Etihad, they defeated Aston Villa 4-1, restoring normal service after a rare blank against Arsenal (0-0) earlier this month.
Last weekend’s thrilling 2-1 victory over Bournemouth will probably be remembered as a turning point if Luton Town manages to stay in the Premier League. After the victory over the Cherries, manager Rob Edwards acknowledged that he will be “losing sleep” figuring out how to counter City, and he is expecting a difficult journey here. Currently, the team is only in the relegation zone below Nottingham Forest on goal difference!
The Hatters have struggled away from home this season; they have lost all five of their away games to teams currently ranked in the top six this year and have not won a Premier League game since defeating Sheffield United on Boxing Day (D3, L4). Though this is the first such meeting since 1999, history doesn’t give much hope either—they haven’t won an away H2H since May 1983 (D2, L4).
Players to watch: Luton will be well aware of the threat that Bernardo Silva poses, having scored in the 2-1 loss to the visitors in December’s rematch, which took place on Tuesday in less than two minutes against Real Madrid. Luton defeated Bournemouth thanks to Carlton Morris’ ninth league goal of the year, his fifth in as many games after the 50th minute.
Hot stat: Up until this weekend, both teams have scored in a league-high 25 (78%) of Luton’s 2023–24 games.