Luton Town host Burnley in the Premier League on Tuesday evening, and they will look to build on their recent win over Everton.
Luton Town are currently 17th in the Premier League table, and they picked up their first victory of the season at Goodison Park, setting them up well for the game against Burnley. The Hatters will thus be full of confidence after the result way to Everton and remains to be seen whether they can build on it with another positive performance against Burnley.
Meanwhile, Burnley are 19th in the league table with five defeats and a draw from six league matches. Vincent Kompany is under a lot of pressure to get his side firing on all cylinders after an impressive season in the Championship last year.
Burnley have not been able to handle the transition to the Premier League well, and it remains to be seen whether they can bounce back strongly. They cannot afford to continue dropping points if they want to secure their place in the Premier League next season.
Luton Town will fancy their chances against the struggling Burnley side, and they will look to pile further misery on the Clarets. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Luton Town
Luton Town have a number of injury issues ahead of this contest. They will be without Albert Sambi Lokonga because of a thigh injury, Dan Potts because of an ankle injury, and Gabriel Osho with a knee injury. Jordan Clark is sidelined with an ankle issue as well.
The visitors are likely to line up in a 3-5-2 formation, with Thomas Kaminski in goal. At the heart of the defence, Mads Andersen, Tom Lockyer, and Reece Burke are set to start in a back three. Issa Kabore and Alfie Doughty should be the wing-backs, and they will look to help out defensively and contribute to counter-attacks.
Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu, Marvelous Nakamba, and Tahith Chong will start in central midfield for Luton. They will look to provide defensive, cover and work rate in the middle of the park. Finally, Carlton Morris will lead the line for the away side alongside Jacob Brown.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Kaminski; Andersen, Lockyer, Burke; Kabore, Chong, Lokonga, Nakamba, Doughty; Morris, Brown
Burnley
Burnley will be without the services of Johann Berg Gudmundsson due to a calf injury. Meanwhile, Michael Obafemi will be unavailable due to a thigh injury, and Hjalmar Ekdal is out with a knee issue.
Vincent Kompany is likely to field his side in a 4-4-2 formation, with James Trafford in goal. Connor Roberts and Hannes Delcroix will be deployed as the full-backs, and they will look to help out defensively and contribute going forward as well. Ameen Al Dakhil and Dara O’Shea will start as the central defenders for Burnley.
In the midfield, Benson Manuel and Luca Koleosho will be deployed as the wingers, and they will look to create goalscoring opportunities from the wide areas. In the middle of the park, Josh Cullen will start alongside Sander Berge. Finally, Nathan Redmond and Zeki Amdouni will start as the strikers.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Trafford; Roberts, Al-Dakhil, O’Shea, Delcroix; Manuel, Cullen, Berge, Koleosho; Redmond, Amdouni
Key Stats
- Burnley have been losing at both half-time and full-time in six of their last seven matches in the Premier League.
- Burnley have lost six of their last seven matches in the Premier League.
- Burnley are unbeaten in their last six meetings against Luton Town.
- Burnley have conceded 15 goals in six Premier League matches this season.
Player to Watch
Alfie Doughty
The 23-year-old Luton Town utility man was outstanding against Everton, and he will look to build on that performance here as well. Doughty helped create a number of opportunities for his teammates on the overlap, and he was solid defensively as well.
Burnley have been quite vulnerable defensively and they will struggle to deal with his service from the flanks. The versatile Luton Town defender is thus our key player to watch out for the game against Burnley.
Prediction
Luton Town 2-1 Burnley
Both teams are quite evenly matched, but Luton are in better form right now and they have the confidence and momentum with them heading into this contest. The home side will fancy the chances of grinding out all three points here.
This is likely to be a close contest, and Burnley will be desperate to get something out of this game. However, Luton Town should be able to pile further misery on them, and a narrow 2-1 home win is on the cards.