The State of Play
Rob Edwards’ Luton Town were dealt the midweek blow of Everton being given four points back to their points tally but the Hatters will still really believe they can pick up enough results to be competitive until deep into the season. They were thrashed in midweek, though, in the fifth round of the FA Cup as Erling Haaland scored five in Manchester City’s 6-2 victory at Kenilworth Road.
Unai Emery’s Aston Villa have had a couple of midweeks free after a really hectic autumn and winter schedule and the Villains have returned to a bit of form as they aim for a top four finish and UEFA Champions League qualification. They backed up their 2-1 victory over Fulham a couple of weeks ago by comfortably defeating Nottingham Forest by four goals to two at Villa Park last Saturday afternoon.
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Team News
Luton Town will remain without several key first-teamers, including club captain Tom Lockyer after his cardiac arrest in December. Attackers such as Jacob Brown and Elijah Adebayo are also both unavailable for this one.
Aston Villa have had to deal with several major injury concerns this season and they are without key defensive midfielder Boubacar Kamara until next season, whilst both Diego Carlos, Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendia are all definite absentees, too.
Expected Line-ups
Luton: Kaminski; Mengi, Osho, Bell; Kabore, Clark, Lokonga, Barkley, Doughty; Morris, Ogbene
Aston Villa: Martinez; Cash, Lenglet, Torres, Alex Moreno; McGinn, Tielemans, Luiz, Ramsey; Bailey, Watkins
What they Said
Rob Edwards has dismissed the idea that Luton were disappointed by Everton receiving their points back from their deduction, suggesting ‘it’s good’ and it ‘makes no difference’ to Town.
After their 4-2 win over Nottingham Forest, Unai Emery described himself as ‘delighted’ with Villa’s performance, but was clear to emphasise delight at the first-half, rather than the second-half.
When and How to Watch
This match will be played at the Kenilworth Road at 17:30 on Saturday March 2nd. It will be shown live on Sky Sports in the UK and will also be able to be streamed via the Sky Go app in the UK.
Prediction
Luton will be capable of going after almost any opponent at Kenilworth Road, as they have shown, and they will be expected to do so again on Saturday afternoon. They will take the game to Villa and it could well be an entertaining encounter. Villa are still the firm favourites to take all three points and make it three successive victories but both teams scoring would also seem quite likely.
