Premier League: Fulham Can Make or Break Luton Town’s Season

Luton Town vs Fulham

It has all come down to the final matchday of the 2023-24 campaign for Luton Town if they are to keep their Premier League status next season. A win against Fulham gives them a super slim chance to get out of the relegation zone, but a draw or a loss would guarantee their return to the Championship.

Fulham don’t have much to play for because they’re unlikely to finish higher than 12^th place, but Marco Silva and his men will look to finish their campaign on a positive note, especially since they have only won once in their last five.

The pre-game SBOTOP betting odds are stacked against the Hatters, even if they are the hosts on Sunday. But one thing is for sure: they’ll bring it against the Cottagers.

Talking Points

Luton Town have to dig deep

Luton Town did all they could to stay in the Premier League beyond this season, but their poor stretch of Premier League 2024 results put them in their current predicament. Since their 2-1 win against Bournemouth last month, the Hatters haven’t won their last five league games.

The Hatters were decimated by injuries, and it was evident in their back-to-back 5-1 losses against Manchester City and Brentford. And they’re coming off a 3-1 defeat against West Ham United last Saturday.

Unfortunately for head coach Rob Edwards, he doesn’t have many options against Fulham, as Chiedozie Ogbene (hamstring), Jacob Brown (knee), Tom Lockyer (heart), Marvelous Nakamba (knee), Amari’i Bell (thigh), and Issa Kabore (ankle) are all out, while Ross Barkley (calf), Mads Andersen (calf), and Dan Potts (thigh) are all questionable to play.

As is the case for the whole season, Edwards will rely on the brilliance of Elijah Adebayo and Carlton Morris, their top scorers with 10 goals apiece this year. On the other hand, Luton Town will need the likes of Albert Sambi Lokonga, Teden Mengi, and Tahith Chong to have great outings against Fulham.

Fulham compromised at the back

Fulham don’t have many injuries to deal with, unlike their hosts, but we wouldn’t be surprised if they concede against Luton Town because Calvin Bassey is their only available starting-calibre centre-back at the moment.

Issa Diop will sit this one after being given his marching orders (two yellow cards) in their 4-0 defeat against Manchester City last time out, while Tosin Adarabioyo hasn’t played a single match in the last three weeks.

Adarabioyo is one of the Cottagers’ best defenders, so his stock has risen to the point that he is being pursued by rival teams this summer. The 26-year-old will be a free agent in July, with Manchester United and Newcastle United monitoring his situation.

Fulham are hoping that Adarabioyo will be 100-per cent fit come Sunday. But assuming he isn’t, Marco Silva may have to consider starting Tim Ream, who hasn’t played since February.

History

Fulham defeated Luton Town 1-0 in their reverse fixture, as Carlos Vinicius scored the only goal of the contest in the 65^th minute. That game in September was Marco Silva’s 100^th game in charge as Fulham manager, and at the time, he had the best win percentage of any Fulham boss in the Premier League with 39.5-per cent.

Before that, these two sides last met in the Championship, where Fulham whacked Luton Town with a score of 7-0, with six different players finding the back of the net.

Fulham are undefeated in their last six league matches against Luton Town (W4, D2).

Recent form between these two sides is somewhat similar, as Fulham have won once, lost twice, and drawn twice in their last five, while Luton Town have lost four and drawn once in the same period.

Betting Tip

The Premier League 2024 odds expect a tight match between the Hatters and the Cottagers at Kenilworth Road this weekend. Fulham have the slight edge at 2.22 odds, whereas Luton Town are not far behind at 2.67, and a draw is at 3.61 in the 1X2 market.

While Fulham beat Luton Town in a low-scoring affair in their last league meeting, there should be a few more goals between these two teams this time around. Other than our recommended bet above, you may want to take a look at Total Goals 2-3 at 2.11, Under 3.25 at 1.91, or Under 3.00 at 2.19.

A Correct Score of 1-0 in favour of the Cottagers – the result of their reverse fixture – is on offer at 13.00. But, on the other hand, the same score for the Hatters has a slightly higher value of 14.50.

 

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