8th Mar 2024 • Written by Bobby Manzi

Crystal Palace seek back-to-back home wins as Luton travel to Selhurst Park

Credit: Sebastian Frej (MB Media via Getty)

Match Details: Premier League, 09/03/2024, 15:00 Kick Off, Selhurst Park. 

Six-pointer at Selhurst

Crystal Palace host Luton Town in Oliver Glasner's second home game in charge. In the previous encounter between the two sides this season, Luton shocked Palace, coming out 2-1 winners. It was a day to forget for the Eagles, who will be seeking revenge on Saturday. 

But, since Glasner's appointment, there has been a fresh bounce around the football club. Last time out at Selhurst Park, Glasner's Eagles dominated Burnley in an emphatic 3-0 victory, which saw the South London club raise their points tally to 28 points. This weekend, Palace will be looking to climb clear of the relegation zone, where they sit just eight points above, as they face the Hatters, who sit third from bottom in the Premier League. 

Palace have a simple task at hand: win and navigate themselves eleven points clear of relegation with ten games to play, or lose and be sucked straight back into the relegation battle. 

The magnitude of the game in the SE25 is colossal for both clubs as they both look to secure their Premier League safety. The relegation six-pointer sets up to be a fascinating encounter that could have major repercussions for the outlook of the final ten games of the season for Glasner's side.

Early team news

Oliver Glasner confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Crystal Palace will be without Matheus França for the game against Luton, with the Brazilian suffering a groin injury. Jordan Ayew is expected to be with the squad on Saturday. Eberechi Eze is expected to see more minutes than the 65 minutes he saw at Tottenham away. Long-term abstentees Marc Guehi, Michael Olise, Cheick Doucourè, Rob Holding, and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi remain out. Jeffery Schlupp has returned to training, but this fixture is too soon for Palace's utility player. 

Amari’i Bell is unavailable for the Hatters trip to Crystal Palace with a hamstring injury. Elijah Adebayo and former Crystal Palace loanee Albert Sambi Lokonga are not ready to make a return for Luton. Town will also be without Joe Johnson, but they may be able to call upon Gabe Osho. Tahith Chong is available for the visitors.

Cal's analysis

Luton, who many gave little chance of survival this season, have surprised almost everybody. Yet, Rob Edwards has his team playing to their strengths while being somewhat of a surprise package in the Premier League. 

The Hatters tend to set themselves up in a 3-4-2-1/3-4-3 with a focus on getting the ball wide to their wingbacks and attempting plenty of crosses. Luton sit top of the tree for crosses this campaign (586), emphasising how vital it is to their play. Almost 40 percent of their crosses come from left wingback Alfie Doughty, who possesses a wicked delivery. 

Getting the ball into wide areas and delivering it into the box has been fruitful for the Hatters, who rank second for goals from headers (12), showing that more often than not, the crosses that are being delivered are dangerous and not put into the box without purpose. 

Sending balls into the box, being aggressive, and reacting fast to loose balls will be the primary ways that Luton will cause Palace problems. 

Out of possession Luton are a team that likes to be aggressive and press high, adopting a man-to-man system as soon as there is a turnover or the opposition gets the ball back in play. Without the ball, their shape looks like a 4-4-2, sticking tight to their man and trying to force high turnovers and counterattack quickly. Impressively, this does not change when they are pushed deeper, continuing to play man-to-man with high energy. 

However, like any system, there are weaknesses. For Edwards’ side, it only takes one player to be pulled out of position and another to lose their marker when pressing high and the opposition is in on goal. We saw this a number of times in the Hatters 6-2 FA Cup defeat to Manchester City. 

We are still waiting to see a true reflection of how Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace will look to play. An encouraging performance against a poor Burnley side showed some promise, but at Tottenham, the much tougher test emphasised the obvious flaws that still lie in this Palace team. 

An obvious problem that has presented itself is the lack of fitness in the Palace squad, often leading to a calamitous final 15 minutes, which has frequently cost the Eagles this campaign. Another issue that has become synonymous with this Palace squad are individual errors that are proving to have a costly effect on the results. 

But, in the short time Glasner has been head coach, there have been positive signs. For example, at Tottenham, there was a willingness to press Spurs high up the field at times and attack in wide areas using the wingbacks. However, the same problems that have been there for most of the season are still occurring. This isn't a cause for concern just yet, as time is needed, but it will need to be addressed sooner rather than later.

Set plays to be vital

Crystal Palace are statistically the worst side at both attacking and defending set-pieces in the Premier League, with the Eagles scoring just their second goal from a set play last week away to Tottenham Hotspur when Eberechi Eze beautifully dispatched a free-kick from just outside of the penalty area.

This fixture is a bit of a mismatch, as Luton are very effective at set-plays, super physical, and strong aerially, everything that Palace are not. 

Going into the game, you'd expect Palace to be the stronger football outfit, but the affair is a tight, strongly contested affair; therefore, should Palace not improve on their dire record from set-plays, it could be an avenue where Luton expose Palace and steal points at Selhurst Park.

Player to watch: Ross Barkley

Ross Barkley is the man who controls the middle of the park for the Hatters, and it's a role he plays in an extremely effective manner. The Englishman, who has an outside shot for the Euro's squad, has been a man reborn since moving to Kennilworth Road. He has oozed in class. The beautiful thing about Barkley is that he does the basics so well: receiving the ball in midfield, shifting it from side to side, and allowing Rob Edwards' side to play efficient counter-attacking football by picking up the ball and getting it out to the wingbacks, who will punish teams with their lethal crosses. 

Barkley has looked like a seasoned professional at Luton, showing in abundance his Champions League experience. He cleverly reads play, and he's not just a master on the ball; he's excellent out of possession too; he breaks up play wonderfully and defends extremely well. He will provide a stern test for the youngster in Palace's midfield, Adam Wharton, which could be a fascinating battle to keep an eye on.

Predicted lineups

Crystal Palace: Johnstone (GK); Mitchell, Richards, Andersen, Ward, Munoz; Wharton, Lerma; Eze, Mateta, Edouard.

Luton Town: Kaminski (GK); Kabore, Burke, Mengi, Hashioka, Doughty; Clark, Barkley; Townsend, Morris, Chong.

History beckons

As Crystal Palace face Luton Town at Selhurst Park on Saturday, Sunny Singh Gill will become the first British South Asian to ever officiate in the Premier League. Additionally, he will become just the seventh referee outside of PGMOL's Select Group to take charge of a Premier League match this season. He has spent the majority of this season officiating in the EFL brandishing six red cards and 137 yellows across 37 matches.

Match Officials

Referee: Sunny Singh Gill.

Assistants: Eddie Smart, Nick Greenhalgh.

Fourth official: Tim Robinson. 

VAR: Peter Bankes. 

Assistant VAR: Mat Wilkes.

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