On Friday night, the Premier League newcomers Luton Town will go to Kenilworth Road to take on the red-hot West Ham United.
The Hammers have garnered seven of a possible nine points, while the Hatters have nothing regardless of beating Gillingham on Tuesday in the EFL Cup. Luton Town confronted an uphill battle in its first year back in the Premier League, beginning with consecutive away games in opposition to Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea after qualifying for the Premier League through the Championship playoffs.
The Hatters got their feet wet on the opening weekend with a 4-1 loss to Brighton. They only had 29% possession and 3 shots on goal at the Amex Stadium, but an 81st-minute penalty from Carlton Morris made for an exciting finish in the South.
Edwards’s squad had to wait two weeks before their next game because they were supposed to host Burnley on the second weekend of the season. The postponement was due to maintenance being done on the field at Kenilworth Road.
The Hatters had another tough away day in the Premier League last weekend, losing 3-0 against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge despite having only 32% of the ball and one shot on target. Raheem Sterling scored twice in the rampage.
After losing Declan Rice, many anticipated West Ham United would struggle early in the 2023–24 season, but David Moyes’s club has won seven of their first nine games. Nayef Aguerd scored the Hammers’ first goal after seven minutes, and they beat Chelsea 3-1 at home after he was sent off for a second yellow card.
Last Saturday, Brighton had 78% of the possession and 25 shots at the Amex, but they couldn’t score. The Hammers won 3-1. James Ward-Prowse, Jarrod Bowen, and Michail Antonio scored for West Ham. West Ham has a deep and strong lineup to defend its Premier League and Europa League crowns after adding Ward-Prowse, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Mohammed Kudus, and Edson Alvarez from Ajax.
Team News- Luton Town
Luton are thin in defence and midfield after Rob Edwards stated that Dan Potts and Jordan Clark will be “out for a number of months” owing to injury. Additionally, Gabriel Osho remains sidelined with a knee ailment.
The Hatters, however, have made several additions to their roster this summer in an effort to improve their performance; these include Ross Barkley from Nice, Marvellous Nakamba from Aston Villa, Ryan Giles from Wolverhampton Wanderers and Issa Kabore from Manchester City on loan.
Edwards is set to use a 5-3-2 formation against West Ham in an effort to keep them quiet. Tahith Chong will start in midfield alongside Barkely and Nakamba, and Elijah Adebayo will face in attack alongside Carlton Morris, who scored 20 goals in the Championship last season.
Team News- West Ham United
West Ham’s Konstantinos Mavropanos is still nursing a back injury and won’t be ready to make his debut until much later this season. Meanwhile, Tomas Soucek left the pitch before halftime last weekend and is questionable to return on Friday.
Nayef Aguerd, who had been suspended for one game but is now eligible to play, is likely to return to the starting lineup for the Hammers with Emerson, Kurt Zouma, and Vladimir Coufal, with Alphonse Areola continuing in goal after making several impressive save against Brighton.
In what will likely be a 4-1-4-1 configuration, Michail Antonio is going to continue to lead the line in front of a front trio consisting of Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta, and Said Benrahma. Antonio is hoping to score for the third game in a row.
Predictions-
Luton Town 1-2 West Ham United
Date – 1st August, 2023
Time – 8pm GMT
Venue – Kenilworth Road
