In-form West Ham United will aim to extend their unbeaten start to the season when they face Premier League newcomers Luton Town at Kenilworth Road on Friday night.
While the Hammers have taken seven points from a possible nine, the Hatters are yet to pick up a point, although Rob Edwards‘s men defeated Gillingham in the EFL Cup on Tuesday.
© Reuters
Having gained promotion via the Championship playoffs last season, it was always going to be difficult for Luton Town to adapt to the demands of the Premier League, with tough away fixtures against Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea welcoming the Bedfordshire club back to the top flight.
As expected, the Hatters experienced a baptism of fire on the opening weekend as they suffered a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Brighton, registering just 29% possession and three attempts on target at the Amex Stadium, although Carlton Morris‘s 81st-minute penalty set up a tense finish on the South coast.
Luton were scheduled to play Burnley at home on the second weekend of the campaign, but the game was postponed due to ground improvement work at Kenilworth Road, meaning that Edwards’s side were forced to wait a fortnight to play their next match.
Once again, the Hatters endured a difficult Premier League away day last weekend, recording a solitary shot on target while seeing just 32% of the ball as they lost 3-0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, with Raheem Sterling bagging a brace in the rout.
On a brighter note, Luton booked their place in the third round of the EFL Cup with a 3-2 victory over Gillingham on Tuesday, courtesy of goals from Jacob Brown, Alfie Doughty and Cauley Woodrow, so Edwards’s men will be determined to secure another positive result at Kenilworth Road on Friday.
© Reuters
Following the departure of key midfielder Declan Rice, many believed that West Ham United would struggle during the early stages of the new season, but David Moyes‘s men have proved their doubters wrong in style, taking seven points from a possible nine to remain unbeaten in 2023-24.
Only four other Premier League teams – Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Arsenal – are yet to taste defeat this term, while only Brighton and Aston Villa have scored more goals than West Ham’s seven, highlighting their strong start to the campaign.
After drawing 1-1 at Bournemouth on the opening weekend, the Hammers claimed an impressive 3-1 victory over Chelsea at the London Stadium, despite playing the final 30 minutes with 10 men following a red card for Nayef Aguerd, who opened the scoring after just seven minutes.
West Ham enjoyed another 3-1 win last weekend as they executed a perfect counter-attacking performance against Brighton, who racked up 78% possession and 25 shots at the Amex but failed to make the most of their dominance, with James Ward-Prowse, Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio grabbing the goals for the visitors.
With Mohammed Kudus and Edson Alvarez recently arriving from Ajax – joining Ward-Prowse and Konstantinos Mavropanos at the London Stadium – West Ham have added both quality and depth to their squad, setting them up for another season of Premier League and European football.
© Reuters
Rob Edwards has confirmed that Dan Potts and Jordan Clark will be “out for a number of months” due to injury, while Gabriel Osho remains sidelined with a knee problem, leaving Luton light in both defence and midfield.
However, the Hatters have made a number of signings as they attempt to bolster their squad this summer, bringing in Ross Barkley from Nice, Marvelous Nakamba from Aston Villa, Ryan Giles from Wolverhampton Wanderers and Issa Kabore on loan from Manchester City.
Edwards will likely utilise a 5-3-2 formation as he aims to keep West Ham quiet, with Tahith Chong joining Barkely and Nakamba in midfield, while Elijah Adebayo will start in attack alongside Carlton Morris, who netted 20 Championship goals last term.
As for West Ham, Konstantinos Mavropanos will have to wait to make his debut as he continues to recover from a lower back issue, while Tomas Soucek is a doubt for Friday after leaving the pitch before half time last weekend.
Having served his one-match suspension, Nayef Aguerd is expected to join Emerson, Kurt Zouma and Vladimir Coufal in the Hammers’ backline, with Alphonse Areola keeping his place between the sticks following a series of eye-catching saves against Brighton.
Aiming to score for the third game running, Michail Antonio will continue to lead the line in what will likely be a 4-1-4-1 formation, while Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and Said Benrahma will offer attacking support to the lone striker.
Luton Town possible starting lineup:
Kaminski; Kabore, Burke, Lockyer, Bell, Giles; Chong, Nakamba, Barkley; Adebayo, Morris
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Areola; Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson; Alvarez; Bowen, Paqueta, Ward-Prowse, Benrahma; Antonio
While Luton Town have conceded seven goals across two league defeats this season, West Ham have scored seven goals while picking up two wins and a draw.
With that in mind, we expect the Hammers to extend their unbeaten run by notching another impressive victory at Kenilworth Road, leaving the Hatters without a point.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Subscribe to our newsletter
