Match Details: Premier League, 25/11/2023, 15:00 Kick Off, Kenilworth Road
Palace travel to Luton for the first time in 17 years
The final international break until March is over and Premier League football is back with eight Palace games between now and the new year. The thick and fast nature of these fixtures begin as Palace travel to Kenilworth Road for the first time in seventeen years, looking for back to back away wins.
In previous visits to Kenilworth Road, Palace have struggled with just the one win in their last eight league trips to the “Kenny”. This season, wins have been hard to come by for the hosts with Luton winning just the one game this season.
The Hatters have lost five of their Premier League games by a one-goal margin this season, the joint-most of any team. Whereas, three of Palace’s four victories have been by one goal. The stats point towards this game being incredibly close.
Palace have very stable form on the road, winning five of their eleven away Premier League games since Roy Hodgson returned to the club (W5 D2 L4), matching the amount of wins as in their previous 28 games on the road (W5 D9 L14). Since the first away game of Hodgson’s second spell at the club, only Manchester City (six) have more away wins in the Premier League.
A chat with the Opposition
Ahead of this weekends meeting with Luton, Ian Robertson of We Are Luton Town gave us an insight from the Luton camp.
"I will start off by saying, it’s no easy task coming to Kenilworth Road. Over the past decade, maybe longer, we have seen teams sit back and wait for us to break them down, as well as teams come and play. The way the game goes tomorrow is dictated by how Crystal Palace approach it. If they are coming to win, they have a game on their hands with our counter attacking play and the crowd propelling our players forward. That is a big part of the magic that Kenilworth Road gives us, and has been a clear indicator as regardless of the fact that Luton Town are still looking for their first home win of the season, our best performances have in fact come at Kenilworth Road."
"However, after ten years of having played in the Conference, it was inconceivable to imagine that Kenilworth Road would be gracing the Premier League. The initial excitement has ebbed away, and now it’s just yet another season. It has a similar feel to our first season back in the Championship in 2019/20, whereby we were a small fish in a big pond, where game planning, cunning and discipline were the order of the day to keep us safe and avoid relegation."
"I came into this season highly aware of the battle we had on our hands. Currently I see that we are in a four-team shoot out to avoid the drop, but sadly three have to go down, and from what I’ve seen so far, the players are giving everything on the pitch, so I’m happy with how we are doing, although I don’t want to be pointing at points dropped against Wolves, Fulham and even Liverpool, if they are the difference between safety and relegation at the end of the season."
"I am looking forward to seeing Palace fans at Kenilworth Road, a lot has been said about the atmosphere created at Selhurst Park, and I’m hoping that transfers over on Saturday, as so far, every Premier League club fans who have visited have been pathetic, only making a noise when they score, and pretty much just sitting quietly waiting for something to happen."
"I’m sure Roy Hodgson will be getting a nice reception from the Luton fans, not because of his time with England though, mainly because he was the manager in charge when Watford were last relegated from the Premier League. If that wasn’t already a great achievement for Roy, he then went and ignored the travelling Watford fans to do a lap of honour around Selhurst Park."
"Saturday will be a battle, we will be compact and disciplined, and I hope Crystal Palace try and utilise all the talent at their disposal. I do believe that the wings are where Palace can hurt us, with Olise and Eze (who has already dismantled us once before with QPR) being incredible talents, which will leave Rob Edwards having to come up with a specific gameplay to try and neutralise their threats. This could however play into our style of play, which is progress the ball as far up the field as quickly as possible. A key to how we make this work will be former Crystal Palace man Andros Townsend, who has impressed me a lot with how direct he is, as he suits the way we play. It remains to be seen if Chiedozie Ogbene will be fit to start, but if he does, as the fastest player in the Premier League this season, he is the perfect foil for Townsend, and the perfect outlet for our long diagonals from our defence, as well beautifully dovetailing with Alfie Doughty on that left hand side."
"I never give score predictions, however, I am feeling quite optimistic due to the fact that our best performances have been at home this season. I think it will be tight, but I think Luton Town can edge it."
Early Team News
Michael Olise is set to make his first start of the season for the Eagles after a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. Dean Henderson, Nathan Ferguson and Jesruan Rak-Sakyi remain unavailable.
For Luton, Mads Andersen remains out injured with a thigh issue, with Dan Potts also missing due to an ankle injury. Former Palace loanee Albert-Sambi Lokonga is out with a thigh issue along with Reece Burke and Amari’i Bell. Cauley Woodrow and Alfie Doughty suffered smaller knocks but could feature tomorrow.
Chiedozie Ogbene and Issa Kabore were both withdrawn with slight issues against Manchester United but may be fit in time for tomorrow's matchup.
Player to Watch: Andros Townsend
Former Crystal Palace man, Andros Townsend is set to face his former side as Palace go head to head with Luton on Saturday.
Townsend will be looking to become the eighth player to score against Palace in the Premier League after representing them. The previous seven: Chris Armstrong, Stan Collymore, Conor Gallagher, Patrick Bamford, Glenn Murray, Leon McKenzie and Marcus Bent.
Since joining Luton in October on a short-term deal until January, he has made four appearances including a start in their exhilarating 1-1 draw against Luton. Townsend will match up against Tyrick Mitchell, trying to exploit Palace in wide areas as the Hatters attempt to counter attack.
Key Battle: Eze vs Lockyer
Tom Lockyer has been one of Luton’s stand-out players this campaign. The club captain plays in the middle of The Hatters’ back three and has started 10 of their 12 Premier League games this season, scoring once against Everton and also getting an assist in the 2-2 draw away to Forest.
Since his return to the squad as a substitute at Turf Moor, Eze has reminded the league just how important he is to Palace and the team’s attacking play. Assisting Tyrick Mitchell’s goal excellently, Eze followed that up with a composed penalty in a well-rounded performance during the 3-2 loss to Everton.
Playing in that central attacking midfield role, Eze will find himself coming up against Lockyer when Palace are on the attack, and this battle could prove crucial to the outcome of the game.
If Eze is able to drive into that central area of the pitch, Lockyer will have no choice but to step out to him and attempt to win the ball. This is where Eze’s quick feet will threaten, and if he can get past Lockyer, he may find himself in good positions to score or set up a teammate.
However, if the Welsh international is able to limit Eze’s impact on the game, Luton may find themselves in a better position to push on and get an all-important point or three.
This battle will likely dictate the result at the final whistle and Palace fans will be hoping that Eze can grab the game by the scruff of the neck and guide us to a win at the Kenny.
TPW Predicted Lineups
Luton Town: Kaminski (GK); Kaboré, Mengi, Lockyer, Osho, Doughty; Nakamba, Barkley; Townsend, Morris, Ogbene
Crystal Palace: Johnstone (GK); Mitchell, Guehi, Andersen, Ward; Doucouré, Lerma, Eze; Olise, Edouard, Ayew
Match Officials
Referee: Jarred Gillett.
Assistants: James Mainwaring, Mat Wilkes.
Fourth official: James Linington.
VAR: Rob Jones.
Assistant VAR: Ian Hussin.