LUTON TOWN came within an inch of beating Liverpool and drawing with Arsenal at their Kenilworth Road home.
And they face the ultimate test on Sunday when ‘struggling' European champions Manchester City come calling.
City are deep in a mini-crisis after an unprecedented four-game run without a win and their deserved midweek defeat at Aston Villa had manager Pep Guardiola admit his team are struggling just now.
Some of their stats make for alarming reading for City fans. They are now fourth in the table and six points behind Arsenal, but perhaps more concerningly for them was that they only had two shots on target against Villa – the fewest ever by a Guardiola team in a game in a run of 535 games. They even failed to win a single corner.
They seem rudderless without Spanish genius Rodri and his return against Luton will be crucial.
The Hatters have been a breath of fresh air to the league this season and although they are in the relegation dogfight as was predicted by almost everyone pre-season, they certainly won't go down without an almighty effort.
They were leading Liverpool before losing an injury time goal and went toe-for-toe with Arsenal in midweek before Declan Rice broke their hearts with another late goal in a thrilling 4-3 defeat. They also only narrowly lost at home to Spurs.
How the bookies view it
Manchester City are still massive favourites here at 1/6 with Coral and are as short as 1/8 in places.
Luton Town can be backed at a huge 20/1 with the same firm and the draw is 15/2 with Paddy Power.
Recent head to heads
The most famous meeting between the sides was in 1983 when a late goal from Raddy Antic saw Luton escape the drop and send City down at their own Maine Road home to send David Pleat leaping across the pitch!
They've not actually played against each other this century.
Players to watch
Ross Barclay has been in excellent form this season and the former Everton and Chelsea midfielder scored his first goal of the season against Arsenal in midweek. He is 10/1 to score anytime with William Hill.
With Erling Haaland a general 1/2 just to score, it's best to look elsewhere for anything approaching value. Phil Foden scored against Spurs last week and is 15/8 to net anytime with Boylesports.
Anything else catch the eye?
Luton will fancy their chances here, but they are up against a wounded City who daren't afford to make it five games without a win.
No one seems to get it easy in Bedfordshire and as long as Luton keep their discipline and don't go gung-ho, they have a chance of keeping this highly competitive.
It would take a brave punter to splash out on City at 1/6 on recent form and the call is Luon to cover a two goals handicap start at 33/20 with UniBet.
As stated, City failed to win a corner against Villa and, on the tight pitch of Kenilworth Road, Luton usually pick up plenty. They managed five v Spurs, three v Arsenal and four v Liverpool – all games where they gave up plenty of possession.
So bet365's 5/6 offer of the hosts to win over 2.5 corners looks a great shout.
This English Premier League match between Luton Town and Manchester City will be played on Dec 10, 2023 and kick off at 14:00. Check below for our tipsters best Luton Town vs Manchester City prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
