Football, AntaraNews – Luton Town will be bidding to get one of the greatest ever results of their history when they play Manchester City to Kenilworth Road in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Tuesday night.
The hosts will go into this match fresh off of a loss to Liverpool at the Premier League last Wednesday, and Man City continued their title goal with a win of 1-0 against Bournemouth in the weekend.
Manchester City continues to astound with their physical fitness level of their team this season. The squad is largely unaffected by serious injuries. For the game against Luton the team of coaches is of English champions can only be without the defender who is versatile, Josko Gvardiol.
It is expected that during the FA Cup match, Manchester City is likely to employ rotation. In particular, it’s likely that the backup goalie, Stefan Ortega, will protect the goal posts in place of Ederson.
Luton is facing more difficulties in their roster. Luton’s head coach “Hatters” will not have immediate access to five of the players on the first team as well as the availability of two players is also in doubt.
Luton Town vs Manchester City Match Preview
Luton have earned lots of fans for their footballing style this season, and their capability to cause big clubs issues, particularly when playing at home. However, Luton are not the only team to suffer. Hatters are coming into this game after three straight Premier League losses to Sheffield United, Manchester United and Liverpool.
Rob Edwards‘s team is 18th in the Premier League table just one point ahead of 17th-placed Everton Their the next Premier League game coming the home of Aston Villa next weekend.
Luton’s main focus now is Luton’s immediate focus is on the FA Cup, though, and they’ve scored two excellent away wins during the tournament so far this season. They beat Bolton Wanderers 2-1 in the third round and beating Everton in the same way at the end of round four towards the close of November.
The Hatters did not win their share of the FA Cup, but they were famously part of the finals of the competition in 1958-59 losing 2-1 against Nottingham Forest in the final.
Luton are already losing Luton to Man City at Kenilworth Road this year, and the English champions coming out winning 2-1 during the Premier League on December 10 however, they had to recover from a deficit in the second half after Adebayo Elijah was able to make the difference in the final minutes of the first half.
It will be the very first FA Cup meeting between the two teams since the beginning of January in 1969 the last time Man City recorded a 1-0 win at Maine Road, and the Citizens will be hoping to advance to the quarter-finals in this year’s competition.
Pep Guardiola‘s team scored an 5-0 win against Huddersfield Town in the third round of the tournament in January 7. They then beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 away from their home stadium on the 26th of January and now the team is getting ready for a return to Premier League opposition in the in the shape of Luton.
Man City have won the FA Cup on seven previous occasions. They have the trophy after they beat Manchester United 2-1 in last season’s final. English champions want to claim two consecutive FA Cup trophies and indeed the back-to-back treble this year.
Guardiola’s squad recorded an impressive 3-1 win against Copenhagen in the opening phase of their final-16 Champions League contest, while they’ll enter the match on the heels of the 1-0 win against Bournemouth at the Premier League.
Man City have been far from being perfect in their season, however they’re currently in a great chance of defending the top spot, currently sitting in at the second spot in the league, just one point ahead of leaders Liverpool with the same amount of matches (26).
Luton Town vs Manchester City Team News
Luton will once again be without Tom Lockyer, Marvelous Nakamba, Jacob Brown and Mads Andersen. Alfie Doughty as well as Albert Sambi Lokonga need late fitness tests.
It is also believed to arrive too quickly for Adebayo The club is seeking to determine the source of the thigh issue that plagues the striker.
The head coach Edwards is likely to offer chances to players from the squad on Tuesday. Tim Krul set to start in the middle of the field and Andros Townsend as well as Reece Burke should also come in the starting XI.
In the case of Man City, Josko Gvardiol is in the hospital with an ankle issue However, Man City are English champions are generally good with regards to their team for the match.
Guardiola is expected to make changes to the team that played Bournemouth during the Premier League on Saturday, including Jeremy Doku, Julian Alvarez, Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker potentially coming into the team.
It is also possible that there will have a place in between the sticks for Stefan Ortega as well. Phil Foden might be allowed an opportunity to rest during the FA Cup fixture due to the quantity of soccer he’s played over the last few times.
Luton Town possible starting lineup: Krul; Burke, Mengi, Bell; Ogbene Lokonga Barkley, Doughty; Chong, Morris, Townsend
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ortega; Walker, Dias, Ake; Rodri, Stones; B Silva, Alvarez, De Bruyne, Doku; Haaland
Prediction Luton Town 1-2 Manchester City
Luton has proven over the course of the campaign that they have the ability to be a problem for any team However, we’re having a difficult time predicting any positive outcome for Luton Hatters in this match. Guardiola is likely to pick the strongest team and Luton’s Citizens will have plenty of power to overcome the opposition Tuesday evening.