Manchester City - Luton Town predictions and free betting tips [13/04/2024]

On Saturday, 13 April, as part of the 33rd game week of the Premier League, Manchester City will host Luton Town on their home turf. In the preceding Tuesday, the hosts put on a vibrant performance in Madrid against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinals (3:3), while the "Hatters" are fighting for survival and occupy a mere 18th spot in the overall ranking.

Predicted Lineups

Manchester City: Ortega; Akanji, Dias, Guardiola; Lewis, Kovacic; Doku, De Bruyne, Nunes, Grealish; Haaland.
Luton Town: Kaminski; Hashioka, Mengi, Berk; Onyedinma, Barkley, Clark, Doherty; Townsend, Chong; Morris.

Manchester City

Holder of 5 out of the last 6 English championship titles, Manchester City is once again striving to win the national championship this season. Currently, the citizens occupy the 3rd place in the Premier League table, one point behind Arsenal and Liverpool. In the last sixteen rounds, Guardiola's wards have not suffered a single defeat (12 wins and 4 draws). After twice sharing the points with direct rivals – Liverpool (1:1) and Arsenal (0:0), City resumed their victorious march in April, easily prevailing over Aston Villa (4:1) and Crystal Palace (2:4) last weekend. This week, the citizens took a trip to Real Madrid, where they achieved a comfortable draw in the first match of the Champions League quarterfinals (3:3), with goals from Phil Foden, Josko Guardiola, and Bernardo Silva. 

It's important to mention that the hosts occupy only third place in the overall home performance standings: in 16 home matches, 38 points were collected, 38 goals were scored, and 13 were conceded. Manchester City will be without key defenders Walker and Ake due to injuries this weekend, however, first-choice goalkeeper Ederson has returned to the full squad. Erling Haaland (19 goals) has only scored one goal in all competitions since 6 March and had a poor performance at Santiago Bernabeu last Tuesday. Key player De Bruyne (3 goals and 6 assists in 11 matches) marked a brace in the last round, but remained on the bench in Madrid due to food poisoning – we definitely expect to see the Belgian in the starting lineup. The main attacking force of the team at the current time is Phil Foden (14 goals and 7 assists), while Nunes will replace Rodri in the midfield.

Luton Town

Having made it to the elite division last summer, Luton Town currently occupies 18th place in the Premier League table, matching the going-above Nottingham Forest in points. Last weekend, Ross Barkley's team achieved a critical victory for themselves over Bournemouth with a 2:1 score, and this result has rekindled the Hatters hopes to maintain their Premier League status and put an end to 10 games without a win (3 draws and 7 losses). Marcus Tavernier put the Cherries in front seven minutes after the break, but the White and Blue restored parity on the scoreboard thanks to a precise strike from Jordan Clark, and Carlton Morris made the Kenilworth Road tribune ecstatic by scoring a winning goal in the 90th minute. At the same time, it should be noted that Luton this season has won only two out of 16 away matches of the championship, collecting only 10 points on the road. 

Rob Edwards' side's injury list for this weekend is still lengthy. Among them are key attacker Adebayo (the club's top scorer with nine goals), experienced defenders Lockyer, Osho, Andersen, and Bell, midfielders Nakamba and Lokonga, winger Ogbene (4 goals), as well as Potts and Jacob Brown. Striker Carlton Morris (9 goals and 4 assists), who scored in the match against Bournemouth, is expected to start once again this Saturday. Ross Barkley (4 goals and 4 assists) conducts Luton’s play in the midfield, while January signing Daiki Hashioka will replace centre-back Rhys Berk or Teden Mengi. Tahith Chong is expected to start on the right wing, with Fred Onyedinma responsible for balance in the midfield.

Head to Head

Over 16 previous attempts, the Hatters have never won against the reigning English champions on their turf and lost all nine recent matches with an overall score of 27:2.

Match prediction for Manchester City - Luton Town

The Citizens are virtually unbeatable at the Etihad, and it's hard to picture the reigning English champions, vying for another title, faltering against an EPL underdog. Even in the case of potential lineup rotation, Guardiola can count on top-tier performers, a luxury the Hatters can't afford due to their bursting-at-the-seams injury list. My prediction is a victory for the favourite with a -2.5 handicap.