Preview Of Luton Town Vs Manchester City: On Paper, Easy Match

Midfielder Rodri again strengthened Manchester City against Luton Town (X/@ManCity).

JAKARTA - Manchester City had a good moment to get up. On paper, The Citizens played an easy match against bottom team Luton Town in week 16 of the 2023/2024 Premier League at Kenilworth Road Stadium, December 10, 2023.

Man City set a bad record. For the first time in six and a half years, they failed to win in four consecutive games.

Previously, they only played a draw, but in the last match Man City had to lose 0-1 against Aston Villa.

The defeat made Man City drop to fourth place. Defending champions are also six points behind leaders of Arsenal.

Bad results when playing away matches against Villa increasingly show dependence on Rodri midfielders.

Yes, during these five matches without the Spanish national team player, Man City always lost.

Not only that, captain Ilkay Gundogan's departure to Barcelona also left a hole in the team.

Pep Guardiola's manager doesn't seem to be able to get a replacement who can take Gundogan's role, which is beyond the expectations of releasing the club for free.

Guardiola also admitted that Man City entered a difficult time. In fact, if they fail to defend the Champions League title, The Citizens are threatened with being absent from the highest caste competition.

The reason is, the teams below him, such as Manchester United and Newcastle United, have the opportunity to compete.

"I think it's important for anyone at the club to face a situation like now. So far we have shown that we are a good team," said Guardiola.

"Maybe we really need things like this. So far we have been unbeaten, but now we can't win a single game," said the former Barca coach who admitted this was a challenge to prove he was the best manager.

"For myself, this is a challenge to prove I am the best manager. For players, this is also a good challenge. In fact, we have to be ready to face the worst possibility, namely being absent in the Champions League next season," he said.

Despite the decline, Man City is predicted to rise quickly. Moreover, the treble winner last season faced a minor opponent when he visited Luton who was in the relegation zone.

Man City is definitely ahead of everything. They also have a squad depth rather than Luton who are threatened with returning to the Championship Division next season.

In the last match, Luton came close to stealing points at home to Arsenal before finally losing 3-4. The result made The Appointments record 10 defeats during 15 league games.

This defeat gave a valuable execution to Rob Edwards' manager to make improvements.

Especially in the previous two homes, Luton picked up good results for being able to play a 1-1 draw against Liverpool and beat Crystal Palace 2-1.

Edwards pun bisa menurunkan skuat terbaik di laga ini. Gelandang Julih Doughty dan bek Teden Mengi sudah puli dari cedera keselapan dan bisa kembali bermain.

Striker Total Adebayayo remains a mainstay. He got a post from Andros Townsend and Charlton Morris.

However, Man City remains the seed. Moreover, Rodri and Jack Grealish can already play. So, once again on paper, they can return to winning tracks.

If it fails again, Guardiola means it can't solve the problem at Man City yet. The reason is, they failed against the bottom team.

Meanwhile, Luton is trying to get out of the relegation zone. This is the driving force of this promotional team who do not want to return to the second level of competition.

Formation Forecast

Luton Town (3-4-3): Kaminski; Bell, Osho, Mengi; Ogbene, Barkley, Mpanzu, Doughty; Townsend, Adebayo, Morris

Manchester City (3-2-3-1): Ederson; Walker, Dias, Ake; Stones, Rodri; Silva, Alvarez, Foden, Grealish; Haaland