MANCHESTER CITY remain on track for a double Treble and it would be a major surprise if their quest came to an end in the FA Cup fifth round against Luton Town.
Pep Guardiola's men have been in ominous form since returning victorious from the Club World Cup, winning 11 of their 12 games and drawing the other. That is part of a 17-game unbeaten run in all competitions that stretches back to a 2-1 win on their last visit to Kenilworth Road back in December.
With Erling Haaland fit and firing again, it would take a brave man to bet against Manchester City repeating last season's heroics by lifting the Premier League trophy, FA Cup and European Cup again.
This FA Cup clash is followed by a Manchester derby in the Premier League on Sunday so Guardiola might be tempted to make a few changes to keep his players fresh.
But he will be wary of giving too many key men a night off as Luton Town have shown this season they can make life very uncomfortable for the big boys at Kenilworth Road.
Liverpool needed a late leveller to escape with a 1-1 draw in November while Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea have joined City in scraping a win there by single-goal margins.
Rob Edwards' men have dropped back into the Premier League drop zone after losing their last three games, with the most damaging of those defeats coming against rock-bottom Sheffield United.
They need a spark to get some belief back into the squad and knocking mighty Manchester City out of the FA Cup would certainly provide it but it's hard to see Guardiola's men slipping up.
How the bookies view it
Manchester City are heavy favourites for this one and are just 1/7 at Bet365 to reach the next round, with the odds increasing only a little for a win inside 90 minutes at 1/3. Luton are 9/1 with most firms to win without extra-time and 11/2 at Paddy Power to qualify. The draw at 90 minutes pays 19/4 with SkyBet.
Recent head to head
That 2-1 win for Manchester City at Luton in December, which brought up a full house of bets for our man Mark, was the first meeting of these sides since 1999. You have to go back another 11 years for Luton Town's last victory in this fixture, a 3-1 League Cup win at Kenilworth Road.
Players to watch
Julian Alvarez only made a 15-minute cameo off the bench at the weekend so the Argentinian could start here as Guardiola freshens up his side. The striker has 15 goals for the season and is 21/10 at William Hill to add to that tally.
Carlton Morris should lead the line for Luton Town again and he's in good goalscoring form, with three goals from his last four outings. The striker is 4/1 with SkyBet for anytime scorer.
Anything else catch the eye?
Luton Town's scoring record is incredible for a team who were written off as Premier League cannon fodder by most of the pundits at the start of the season. They've drawn just one blank in their last 16 games, although that did come in the FA Cup in a 0-0 draw with League One Bolton. That suggests we should see plenty of goals in this one and combining BTTS with over 2.5 strikes pays 6/5 at Bet365.
Mark cashed in by backing Luton Town corners when Man City last came calling and it paid off as Edwards' team won 6-3 on the corner count. The Hatters could be worth a look in the corner handicap for this one and Luton +3 pays a tempting 11/10 at Unibet. Over 3.5 corners for the Hatters might be a safer bet and that pays evens with Bet365.
Ross Barkley has been in superb form for Edwards' side and his creativity will be key to their chances of a cup upset. Bet365 price the playmaker at 2/1 just to have a shot on target and that looks worth a punt. Over 3.5 Luton shots on target also looks good at 6/4 with Unibet.
This FA Cup match between Luton Town and Manchester City will be played on Feb 27, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. 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.
