Manchester City’s quest to retain the FA Cup continues on Tuesday night as they travel to Luton Town.
City overcame their Tottenham Hotspur Stadium hoodoo at the end of January to put their name into the fifth-round hat, where they were drawn against the Premier League newbies.
Luton Town, as they have so often against the league’s best this season, pushed City all the way when the two sides met at Kenilworth Road in December, with the visitors winning 2-1.
Luton have endured three-straight defeats just after they were building up some momentum, and they weren’t in action at the weekend having lost 4-1 at Anfield last Wednesday. City, meanwhile, have scraped by in recent weeks but are a mere point adrift of league leaders Liverpool heading into the run-in.
Here’s 90min’s preview of Tuesday’s FA Cup fifth round tie.
|
Luton Town |
Man City |
|---|---|
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Liverpool 4-1 Luton Town – 21/02/24 |
Bournemouth 0-1 Man City – 24/02/24 |
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Luton Town 1-2 Man Utd – 18/02/24 |
Man City 1-0 Brentford – 20/02/24 |
|
Luton Town 1-3 Sheffield Utd – 10/02/24 |
Man City 1-1 Chelsea – 17/02/24 |
|
Newcastle 4-4 Luton Town – 03/02/24 |
FC Copenhagen 1-3 Man City – 13/02/24 |
|
Luton Town 4-0 Brighton – 30/01/24 |
Man City 2-0 Everton – 10/02/24 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
ITVX, STV Scotland, ITV 1 UK |
|
United States |
ESPN+ |
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Canada |
Sportsnet West, Sportsnet East, Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet Now, Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet Now Plus |
Doubts remain over the status of leading scorer Elijah Adebayo, who has missed Luton’s previous two defeats with a hamstring complaint. Jacob Brown also sat out the trip to Anfield and is a doubt for City’s visit.
Rob Edwards will certainly be without Marvelous Nakamba, but Alfie Doughty should be fine to feature despite picking up a knock last Wednesday. Mads Juel Andersen and Fred Onyedinma are unlikely to play any part.
Luton Town predicted lineup vs Man City (3-4-3): Kaminski; Mengi, Osho, Bell; Ogbene, Barkley, Lokonga, Doughty; Morris, Woodrow, Chong.
Pep Guardiola has little to complain about on the injury front heading into this cup tie. Only Josko Gvardiol is likely to miss out with an ankle issue.
Jack Grealish was an unused substitute on Saturday and could return to the XI in midweek, replacing Matheus Nunes. Julian Alvarez and Kevin De Bruyne are also poised for starts with Phil Foden potentially earning a rest.
Oscar Bobb is in contention as well, while veteran Kyle Walker could be back after he dropped down to the bench at the weekend.
Man City predicted lineup vs Luton Town (3-2-4-1): Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji; Rodri, Kovacic; Bobb, De Bruyne, Alvarez, Grealish; Haaland.
Luton’s courageous approach has given their opponents plenty to consider this season, including City, who were forced to come from behind at Kenilworth Road in December.
And while the visitors haven’t been at their sparkling best in recent outings, this feels like a bout where they can spread their wings. Luton’s tendency to man-mark will leave them at the mercy of De Bruyne and Erling Haaland, who could have field days in this cup tie should they find their respective grooves.
