On Sunday, the 5th of November, in the 11th round of the Premier League, Luton Town will host Liverpool on their home field. In midweek, the Reds beat Bournemouth 2:1 in the EFL Cup, while the Hatters fell victim to Aston Villa in West Midlands 3:1.
Luton Town: Kaminski; Kabore, Osho, Lockyer, Mengi, Doughty; Nakamba, Barkley; Chong; Morris, Adebayo.
Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Salah, Nunez, Jota.
The match will take place in Luton at Kenilworth Road Stadium.
Luton, currently sitting 18th in the Premier League table, and 1 point from safety, is struggling in the top tier. The club has only managed a single victory over Everton (2:1) since the start of the season, with 2 draws and 7 defeats. Carlton Morris's team has a four-match winless streak with no progress. After a draw with fellow struggling side Nottingham Forest (2:2), the Blue and Whites fell to Aston Villa (3:1) in the following weekend's game because of goals from John McGinn and Moussa Diao, with Tom Lockyer managing a consolation goal. If Luton fails to change the dynamics and hold off Liverpool tonight, they would become the first Premier League team since Leicester in 1994 to concede in each of their first 11 league matches.
After last season's disappointments, Liverpool has managed to return to the top spots this season. As of now, the Merseysiders are in fourth place in the Premier League, 3 points behind the league leaders. Their only defeat came against leaders Tottenham due to a refereeing mistake (2:1). Since then, the Reds drew with Brighton (2:2), then posted wins over Everton (2:0) and Nottingham Forest last weekend (3:0). This Wednesday, the visitors managed to reach the EFL Cup quarter-finals with a victory over Bournemouth (2:1). Justin Kluivert responded to Cody Gakpo's goal with a penalty, but then Darwin Núñez struck a crazy shot from long distance to clinch victory for his team. Liverpool remains unbeaten in their Europa League group (3 wins) and are firmly seated at the top with 9 points.
It's worth noting that Liverpool lost their last two matches against Premier League newcomers from the Championship. In the Reds camp, key left-back Robertson and midfielder Thiago Alcantara are missing, as well as reserves Bayatich (midfield) and Doak (forward) due to injuries. On the other hand, midfielder Curtis Jones has returned from suspension and started in the EFL Cup this week. Both Gakpo (2 goals) and Núñez (4 goals and 3 assists), who scored against Bournemouth, are expected to start, as is Salah (8 goals and 4 assists), who has found the net five times in the last three matches. Colombian winger Luis Diaz (2 goals), whose parents were recently kidnapped, may miss the game.
The two teams haven't met since January 2008: 15 years ago, Steven Gerrard scored a hat-trick, leading to a 5:0 drubbing of Luton in the FA Cup.
Even with ten men, Tottenham failed to score more than one goal at Kenilworth Road in their recent trip to Luton. However, Liverpool has been in great form at the start of the current season and has a far more flexible bench to adjust the game as needed. Luton is struggling with its squad, which is barely fit for Premier League standards. I expect the Merseysiders to secure a victory with a -1.5 goal handicap.
Liverpool has scored 10 goals in their last three fixtures – which is not surprising considering their star-studded attack. I expect the visitors to net at least twice today (ITO over 2).
Liverpool should outperform their opponents in all key statistics, including corners (handicap -2.5).
Luton is seriously outclassed, and in order to retain some defensive security, the hosts will have to commit a lot of fouls – they will win the yellow card count.
I'll take Liverpool to win with an exact scoreline of 3:0.
# | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | G | PTS | |
1 | Liverpool | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 13:2 | 18 | |
2 | Manchester City | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 17:8 | 17 | |
3 | Arsenal | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 15:6 | 17 | |
4 | Chelsea | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 16:8 | 14 | |
5 | Aston Villa | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 12:9 | 14 | |
6 | Brighton | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 13:10 | 12 | |
7 | Newcastle | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8:7 | 12 | |
8 | Fulham | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10:8 | 11 | |
9 | Tottenham | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 14:8 | 10 | |
10 | Nottingham | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 7:6 | 10 | |
11 | Brentford | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 13:13 | 10 | |
12 | West Ham | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 10:11 | 8 | |
13 | Bournemouth | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -2 | 8:10 | 8 | |
14 | Manchester Utd | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -3 | 5:8 | 8 | |
15 | Leicester | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | -3 | 9:12 | 6 | |
16 | Everton | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -8 | 7:15 | 5 | |
17 | Ipswich | 7 | 0 | 4 | 3 | -8 | 6:14 | 4 | |
18 | Crystal Palace | 7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | -5 | 5:10 | 3 | |
19 | Southampton | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | -11 | 4:15 | 1 | |
20 | Wolves | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | -12 | 9:21 | 1 | |
1 | Manchester City | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11:6 | 10 | |
2 | Arsenal | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10:4 | 10 | |
3 | Brentford | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11:6 | 10 | |
4 | Brighton | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7:5 | 8 | |
5 | Aston Villa | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6:5 | 7 | |
6 | Newcastle | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4:2 | 7 | |
7 | Fulham | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6:3 | 7 | |
8 | Liverpool | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5:1 | 6 | |
9 | Tottenham | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7:2 | 6 | |
10 | Chelsea | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6:6 | 5 | |
11 | Leicester | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4:4 | 5 | |
12 | Bournemouth | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4:3 | 4 | |
13 | Everton | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4:7 | 4 | |
14 | West Ham | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6:9 | 3 | |
15 | Manchester Utd | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1:6 | 3 | |
16 | Nottingham | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2:3 | 2 | |
17 | Ipswich | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3:5 | 2 | |
18 | Crystal Palace | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2:5 | 2 | |
19 | Southampton | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1:5 | 1 | |
20 | Wolves | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4:10 | 0 | |
1 | Liverpool | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8:1 | 12 | |
2 | Chelsea | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10:2 | 9 | |
3 | Nottingham | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5:3 | 8 | |
4 | Manchester City | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6:2 | 7 | |
5 | Arsenal | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5:2 | 7 | |
6 | Aston Villa | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6:4 | 7 | |
7 | Newcastle | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4:5 | 5 | |
8 | West Ham | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4:2 | 5 | |
9 | Manchester Utd | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4:2 | 5 | |
10 | Brighton | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6:5 | 4 | |
11 | Fulham | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4:5 | 4 | |
12 | Tottenham | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7:6 | 4 | |
13 | Bournemouth | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4:7 | 4 | |
14 | Ipswich | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3:9 | 2 | |
15 | Leicester | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5:8 | 1 | |
16 | Everton | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3:8 | 1 | |
17 | Crystal Palace | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3:5 | 1 | |
18 | Wolves | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5:11 | 1 | |
19 | Brentford | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2:7 | 0 | |
20 | Southampton | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3:10 | 0 |
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