Luton v Man Utd preview

ManchesterWorld

Michael Plant assesses Manchester United's recent form ahead of the clash against Luton Town on Sunday.

Transcript

00:00 Manchester United are back in Premier League action this weekend when they face a trip

00:04 to Kenilworth Road to take on Luton. It's actually the first away league trip to Luton

00:09 since 1992, a long, long time, actually before the Premier League era. And United go there

00:15 in good form, you have to say. They've won the last four in all competitions, five of

00:20 the last six, and they are closing down those Champions League places at present. They are

00:26 currently five points behind fifth place Assembly Villa at the moment, six points behind fourth

00:32 place Spurs. But the momentum is obviously with United, who have got a lot of players

00:35 back from injury over the last couple of weeks, have improved their performances and the results

00:39 drastically. And I think with the likes of, well, Casemiro back, Luke Shaw returning recently

00:47 from injury, and a couple of other players really stepping up, including that front three

00:51 of Garnaccio, Hoyland and Rashford. Things are looking much more optimistic for United.

00:57 And I think they've got to fancy their chances at the moment, certainly of catching Villa,

01:00 who for them, sadly, are in free fall at the moment after a really good start. Of course,

01:05 United won their last week at Villa Park to make it the four wins on the bounce. And Eric

01:11 Ten Hag did address the media in today's press conference. And I mentioned Luke Shaw earlier,

01:15 but he is actually a doubt for this weekend's game. He came off at halftime in the 2-1 win

01:20 over Villa, and Eric Ten Hag revealed that he is a doubt for the game. Arman Basaka also

01:25 not expected to be involved. And he's going to be out for a couple of weeks along with

01:29 Mason Mount and Tyrell Malasia. And United, I mean, I mentioned it's their first league

01:34 trip to Luton since 1992, but they did actually play there a couple of years ago in the League

01:39 Cup when they won 3-0 when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was manager. And of course, the sides played

01:43 each other earlier this season at Old Trafford in the Premier League with United winning

01:47 1-0, a goal from Viktor Lindelof. And you have to say that was a day that United really

01:50 put in a bit of a disappointing, underwhelming display that they just about managed to get

01:55 over the line against Luton. And actually, when you consider where the team are at now,

01:59 things are actually looking a lot better for United when you consider just the way they're

02:03 playing, the performances they're putting in, and the run of results. So listen, I still

02:06 think there's a lot to improve for United, a lot of areas that they need to address,

02:10 but at the moment, anyway, looking a little bit better. And in saying that, though, I

02:15 don't expect an easy game against Luton, a side who have actually only lost two of the

02:20 last 10 in all competitions. I think that underlines that it is going to be a difficult

02:23 game for United. And they don't really lose many games by a lot of, you know, by a significant

02:28 scoreline. There's not many games this season that they've lost 3-4-0. I think we all thought

02:32 that was going to be the case when they promoted last season. But they put in some really good

02:36 performances recently, put in a superb display to beat Brighton 4-0 in the Premier League.

02:42 They recently drew with Newcastle, they beat Newcastle in that run of 10 games that I previously

02:47 mentioned. So it's going to be a difficult game for United. And Luton have also, I mean,

02:52 they drew with Liverpool at home, they nearly managed to nick a point against City as well.

02:57 So it's not going to be an easy game. I think it's a game that Luton are going to

02:59 vent deep, look to catch United on the counter attack. That's the sort of game United have

03:03 struggled with over the last couple of seasons. Although I have to say that that was the game

03:08 at Villa Park and they dealt pretty well with that. So listen, it's going to be a difficult

03:12 game for United. But Luton, who are just currently outside of the relegation zone, you would

03:16 expect that United, if they have serious aims of Champions League football, they've got

03:20 to go to Kenilworth Road and come away with an important three points.

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