Gameweek 8, 2023

Tottenham Hotspur travel to Kenilworth Road to take on Luton Town in the lunchtime kick off on Saturday, with Ange Postecoglou’s side looking to continue their unbeaten start to the season.

Rob Edwards’ Luton side look set to cause an upset when Ange Postecoglou brings his unbeaten Tottenham Hotspur side to LU1 on Saturday for an early start.

The Hatters have had a difficult start to life in the Premier League so far, picking up just four points from a possible 21 points. Their first win came last weekend when they beat Everton at Goodison Park but lost at home. Against Burnley in midweek would have dampened spirits. Tottenham came into this Premier League season with their joint-highest points tally (17) after seven games. A 96th-minute winner against Liverpool with a Joel Matip own goal was enough to lift them into second place and a win could see them top of the league on Saturday afternoon before the rest of the weekend begins. The last time these two teams met was in Division 1 in March 1992 – the game ended goalless.

Team news

City of Luton

After limping off with a hamstring injury in the first half of Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat by Burnley, defender Amari Bell will be sidelined for the contest and the extent of his injury is not yet known.

He joins Arsenal loanee Albert Sambi Lokonga (knee), Gabriel Osho (knee), Dan Potts (ankle) and Jordan Clark (ankle) in the treatment room.

However, there was some good news. Ross Barkley has been in full training this week and will compete for the first time since the defeat to West Ham at the start of September.

“He’s fit, he’s been training, he’s part of the team and it’s good to be back on the grass,” Edwards explained. Free agent and former Tottenham academy graduate Andros Townsend is on trial with the newly promoted side. He trained with the first team and will play for the U21s in Friday evening’s Premier League Cup clash with Leeds United.

Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham’s injury list continues to grow after Manor Solomon suffered a meniscus injury in training this week. Postecoglou has confirmed he will be out for around 3-4 months, with the Israeli joining Alfie Whiteman (ankle), Ryan Sessegnon (thigh), Rodrigo Bentancur (ACL) and Ivan Perisic (ACL) on the long-term absentee list.
Brennan Johnson is also missing on signing day here, he picked up muscle strains on his full debut against Arsenal but should be back when the international break ends in two weeks. Giovani Lo Celso was sent off at half-time in the Carabao Cup second-round defeat to Fulham in August and has not played since. According to Postecoglou, there is a possibility that both the Argentine and Bryan Gil, who will not play a single minute under the Australian, can both participate in the game. Yves Bissouma is one yellow card away from receiving an automatic ban for collecting yellow cards.

Likely lineups
City of Luton
Kaminsky; Kabore, Mengi, Lockyer, Burke, Doughty; Mpanzu, Nakamba; Chong, Ogbene, Morris.
Tottenham Hotspur
vicar; Pedro Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Udogie; Bissouma, Sarr, Maddison; Kulusevski, son, Richarlison.
Key players
Luton Town: Tom Lockyer
Luton manager – They need Wales if they want to get out of this tie.
The skipper will be crucial in the bid to unseat Heung-Min Son, who scored six goals in the number nine position in September and was named Premier League Player of the Month.

The hosts have picked up points in two matches so far this season, but in both cases Lockyer has put in two solid performances (7.2 against Wolverhampton Wanderers and 7.3 against Everton, according to SofaScore). He also scored at Goodison as he inspired his team to victory.

Tottenham Hotspur: Dejan Kulusevski

Possession will be key for Tottenham if they are to get a result against Luton and there aren’t many better than right back Dejan Kulusevski.

After his first few games, the Swede was in unreal form after scoring in Bournemouth’s 2-0 win at the Vitality Stadium.

He has two goals and two assists in all competitions (including internationals) since matchweek three and even scored the winner in the 11th minute against Sheffield United three weeks ago.

If he is fit, it could be a long day for Luton left-back Alfie Doughty, who is expected to be selected to start against the Swede.

Match details

where is the game The game will be played at Kenilworth Road.

What time does it start? The match has been selected for live broadcast and will therefore start at 12:30 from the earlier game time.

How can I watch the game? The game will be broadcast live on TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport) and Discovery, and if you can’t watch the game, TalkSport Radio will be live.