Luton Town vs Manchester City (FA Cup Fifth Round): Match Preview, Team News, Head to Head, How to Watch

Manchester City travel to Kenilworth Road on Tuesday night to face Luton Town with the hope of qualifying for the quarter-finals of this year’s Emirates FA Cup.

To get to this stage of the competition, Pep Guardiola’s side have brushed aside Huddersfield Town 5-0 at homem whilst Nathan Ake scored an 88^th minute winner against Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur in London.

Manchester City have an impressive record in the Emirates FA Cup under Pep Guardiola’s management since he first arrived at the club in 2016, and face Luton in the competition for the first time since 1969.

In recent times, Manchester City have shown a different side to themselves. Whilst the possession and shots on goal have been fairly consistent, the scorelines have not demonstrated the ruthless goalscoring nature the Etihad faithful have been accustomed to.

1-0 wins over Brentford and Bournemouth, home and away respectively, have represented City’s ability to grind out results when the team are not finding the back of the net at the normal rate. However, these are all signs of a fantastic team.

To set up their match-up against the Manchester-based team, Luton had to overcome promotion-chasing League One side Bolton. The first fixture in this tie finished 0-0 at Kenilworth Road forcing a replay, when a 57^th minute winner from Chiedozie Ogbene, who has massively impressed this season, saw The Hatters progress.

Then came their Premier League relegation rivals Everton. A fairly even match which resulted in former Fulham player Cauley Woodrow finding the back of the net in 96^th minute, erupting the away end.

Whilst Rob Edwards side would love the chance to compete in the quarter-finals, there may be a scenario in which they rotate their side with a trip to Aston Villa in the Premier League on the horizon. However, this does seem unlikely as, if they overcome this tie, they would be just one win away from a trip to Wembley.

For Manchester City, Luton Town do present a tough test which they will have to be up for. Wins have been few and far between recently for The Hatters but their performance at Anfield will provide them with some encouragement. Having gone in to half-time ahead, they ultimately lost the match.

Yet, there were positives to take away from the defeat, and there will be a feeling that they may be able to take advantage of a possibly rotated Manchester City side.

Fixture Details

Manchester City are set to take on Luton Town on Tuesday 27^th February, with kick-off scheduled for 20:00 GMT.

Team News

Pep Guardiola provided some fitness updates in his press conference with Jack Grealish and Josko Gvardiol being described as “good”. Whilst they still have not trained with the team, Gvardiol is “on the verge of coming back” which may suggest that this tie is just a few days too soon as he declared he was not sure whether he would be available.

Aside from that, everyone is fine and there are no new injury concerns.

For Luton, Alfie Doughty is fit to play despite being taken off early in the 4-1 defeat to Liverpool. There is potential for a debut for Daiki Hashioka. Having joined Edwards’ team in January, the Japanese international has yet to feature.

Due to the terms of his loan agreement, Issa Kabore will be unable to feature against his parent club, while Arsenal-loanee Albert Sambi Lokonga and club top-scorer Elijah Adebayo will miss out due to hamstring problems.

Defender Mads Andersen will also not feature as he has suffered a setback from a calf issue. Recovering from a knee cartilage operation, Jacob Brown will be on the sidelines for the foreseeable future with the timescale for his return to action unknown.

As expected, Tom Lockyer is not available having suffered cardiac arrest in December. Zimbabwean midfielder Marvellous Nakamba is suffering from a knee issue with Edwards confirming in January that a return to action will not be possible for a few months.

Head to Head

Over the course of the years, these two sides have played 50 times albeit, before this season commenced, the last time was 1999. In those 50 matches, Manchester City have come out on top 25 times, compared to Luton’s 14.

In the Premier League, this fixture has already happened. Guardiola’s team travelled to Kenilworth Road back in December and came out 2-1 winners.

In that win, Adebayo gave the home side the lead before a quick-fire double from Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish – turning the game on its head approaching the 65^th minute mark.

Statistics

• This is the first time since 1969 that this fixture has taken place in the FA Cup.
• Luton Town are hopeful of reaching the quarter-finals of this competition since the 1993/94 season.
• Under their current manager, Manchester City have reached the quarter-finals in every season except in 2017/18 where they fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Wigan Athletic.
• Luton Town have not won any of their last four fixtures whilst they’ve conceded 13 goals in the process.
• In the same timeframe, Manchester City have won three and drawn once, with the draw coming against Chelsea.

How to Watch

For viewers in the United Kingdom, the match will be televised on ITV 1. Coverage will begin at 19:30, with kick-off scheduled for 20:00 GMT.

For fans in the United States, the fixture will be shown on ESPN+, with kick-off scheduled for 15:00 EST.

If you don’t live in the areas above then you can find your respective country in the full global TV listings which can be found here!

City Xtra will also have live coverage of the game across our X, Facebook and Instagram, with our live WatchAlong show available on our official Youtube channel!