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Premier League Predictions: Luton Town

Premier League Predictions: Luton Town

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Luton Town were one of the surprise packages of the 2022/23 Championship campaign. They will be hoping to be one of the surprise packages of the 2023/24 Premier League season, but it is going to be difficult.  

By Sam McGuire

How the team did last season

Luton finished sixth during the 2021/22 season and another play-off push was expected. However, the loss of manager Nathan Jones to Southampton in November had the potential to derail their campaign, especially after a difficult start. 

By the time Jones left, Luton had lost five of their 20 matches. 

They only lost three more during the remainder of the season on their way to a third-place finish under Rob Edwards. The new boss was sacked by rivals Watford after a handful of matches in charge and his appointment was a brave one by the Luton board. 

Only champions Burnley lost fewer matches. In fact, Luton and the Clarets were the only two teams in the league to lose fewer than 10. 

The Hatters finished the season with a 14-match unbeaten run and this set them up for a play-off clash with Sunderland. A first-leg defeat wasn’t enough to stop them from reaching Wembley and in the final, they beat Coventry on penalties to return to the English top-flight. 

Carlton Morris was the main man for the Hatters, finishing the season with 20 Championship goals and seven assists. He topped the charts for both metrics. However, James Bree finished with the highest Expected Assists total (7.5) and Alfie Doughty finished with the highest FotMob average ( 7.39).  

What has happened during the summer?

Perhaps not as much as fans would’ve liked to see happen. 

So far, the club have brought in five players. Ryan Giles, a left-back, arrived from Wolves. Luton raided Birmingham for Tahith Chong, a versatile winger, and Barnsley for centre-back Mads Andersen. 

The club turned Marvelous Nakamba’s loan spell from Aston Villa into a permanent one and this could be the signing of the summer for the Hatters.  Finally, Chiedozie Ogbene joined from Rotherham on a free transfer. 

They’ve done well to keep hold of their key players but is that going to be enough? They didn’t need a scattergun approach like Nottingham Forest last summer but they may have needed a little more than what they have currently done. 

What they should be aiming for next season?

First and foremost, survival will be the aim. It is going to be difficult though. 

This is still largely a Championship-level squad. The quality hasn’t improved much so Edwards will be relying on the team, once again, buying into his philosophy to give them a fighting chance. If the team pulls together, they could record a number of shock results and it might be enough for survival. But it is a big if. 

Kenilworth Road could play a part in their survival but relying on the home crowd is something of a risk when what happens on the pitch is out of their control.

Prediction 

20th

(Images from IMAGO)

Think you know better than our Premier League expert? Then play the FotMob Predictor Game and decide where your team will finish this season! Find the game in the More tab of the FotMob app, which you can download, for free, right here.

Premier League Predictions: Luton Town

Luton Town were one of the surprise packages of the 2022/23 Championship campaign. They will be hoping to be one of the surprise packages of the 2023/24 Premier League season, but it is going to be difficult.  

By Sam McGuire

How the team did last season

Luton finished sixth during the 2021/22 season and another play-off push was expected. However, the loss of manager Nathan Jones to Southampton in November had the potential to derail their campaign, especially after a difficult start. 

By the time Jones left, Luton had lost five of their 20 matches. 

They only lost three more during the remainder of the season on their way to a third-place finish under Rob Edwards. The new boss was sacked by rivals Watford after a handful of matches in charge and his appointment was a brave one by the Luton board. 

Only champions Burnley lost fewer matches. In fact, Luton and the Clarets were the only two teams in the league to lose fewer than 10. 

The Hatters finished the season with a 14-match unbeaten run and this set them up for a play-off clash with Sunderland. A first-leg defeat wasn’t enough to stop them from reaching Wembley and in the final, they beat Coventry on penalties to return to the English top-flight. 

Carlton Morris was the main man for the Hatters, finishing the season with 20 Championship goals and seven assists. He topped the charts for both metrics. However, James Bree finished with the highest Expected Assists total (7.5) and Alfie Doughty finished with the highest FotMob average ( 7.39).  

What has happened during the summer?

Perhaps not as much as fans would’ve liked to see happen. 

So far, the club have brought in five players. Ryan Giles, a left-back, arrived from Wolves. Luton raided Birmingham for Tahith Chong, a versatile winger, and Barnsley for centre-back Mads Andersen. 

The club turned Marvelous Nakamba’s loan spell from Aston Villa into a permanent one and this could be the signing of the summer for the Hatters.  Finally, Chiedozie Ogbene joined from Rotherham on a free transfer. 

They’ve done well to keep hold of their key players but is that going to be enough? They didn’t need a scattergun approach like Nottingham Forest last summer but they may have needed a little more than what they have currently done. 

What they should be aiming for next season?

First and foremost, survival will be the aim. It is going to be difficult though. 

This is still largely a Championship-level squad. The quality hasn’t improved much so Edwards will be relying on the team, once again, buying into his philosophy to give them a fighting chance. If the team pulls together, they could record a number of shock results and it might be enough for survival. But it is a big if. 

Kenilworth Road could play a part in their survival but relying on the home crowd is something of a risk when what happens on the pitch is out of their control.

Prediction 

20th

(Images from IMAGO)

Think you know better than our Premier League expert? Then play the FotMob Predictor Game and decide where your team will finish this season! Find the game in the More tab of the FotMob app, which you can download, for free, right here.