Kenilworth Road hosts a big Premier League fixture when Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur side come to town.

Luton Town are still searching for their first win in Premier League football and are hoping to secure a huge scalp against one of the league’s undefeated sides. The Hatters were preseason favourites for relegation and are living up to it as they sit rock-bottom of the pile after the first six games.  

A meeting with Tottenham will be their first in any competition since March 1992 and Spurs are unbeaten in their last nine encounters. Luton’s wait for a victor in this fixture since November 1987 could well be extended with Tottenham dominating their previous head-to-head meetings.

There is currently a big disparity in form and quality between both sides with Luton struggling as predicted.

Rob Edwards’ team started the season with a 4-1 thumping at Brighton, then things stayed the same against Chelsea who also won 3-0. Luton’s efforts were still not enough to win a point in subsequent defeats against West Ham and Fulham either side of the September international break. 

However, they finally got off the mark with a draw against ten-man Wolves and will be galvanised especially with two Premier League games coming at home. Hatters fans will be hoping to build on that result for their first win of the new top flight campaign. 

With Exeter City dumping them out of the EFL Cup, vital bottom-of-the-table clashes against Everton and Burnley could give the Hatters impetus to approach the Spurs game thinking they have nothing to lose. 

Indeed, it will very much be defence versus attack for the majority of the game but Luton relish the opportunity to potentially cause a huge upset that would send shockwaves across the division. 

Tottenham, on the other hand, have scored 15 goals already in their first six games with only Brighton (18) and Manchester City (16) finding the net more times. Spurs will host Liverpool just before travelling to Luton and may be desperate for all three points here.

Postecoglou’s team has surpassed expectations in the early stages of the season with their brilliant attacking football and how much they have improved from last season. 

The Lilywhites got off to an electric start to 2023/24 in a 2-2 draw at Brentford but they showed just how good they might be with a commanding 2-0 defeat of Manchester United. Another 2-0 victory was recorded against Bournemouth but they truly exploded in a 5-2 win at Burnley courtesy of Son Heung-Min’s hat trick. 

Tottenham showed incredible resilience in a comeback win against Sheffield United with both their goals scored during added time. It proved perfect preparation for the North London Derby where Spurs held off the title hopefuls to a 2-2 draw away from home. 

Spurs are now one of the only four Premier League teams yet to lose this term alongside Man City, Liverpool and Arsenal.

The North Londoners look like they could mount a serious challenge at the top end of the standings and they will be keen to avoid a smash-and-grab result for the hosts.  

Match tickets

This match will be the opening game of the weekend on Saturday, 7th October at 12:30 pm UK time. Luton Town vs Tottenham Hotspur Tickets are on sale via each club’s website and Kenilworth Road should have a capacity crowd as Luton fans hope to witness a historic performance against one of English football’s traditional Big Six clubs. 

Getting a hold of Luton Town tickets would be difficult given the occasion and the limited seats available at the smallest Premier League stadium which houses just over 11,000 people at once. Nevertheless, supporters can search for a late ticket on a ticket reselling site. 

Team news

With lots of time before the game kicks off at the time of writing, Luton are without Dan Potts, Jordan Clark and Gabriel Osho, but Ross Barkley should be back fit by then.

Luton are very flexible in the full-back positions as Edwards has constantly rotated between Alfie Doughty, Ryan Giles, Issa Kabore and even Amari’i Bell. Any of these combinations are expected to pair up against Spurs.  

The likes of Giovani Lo Celso, Ryan Sessegnon, Alfie Whiteman, Rodrigo Bentancur and Bryan Gil are presently injured for Spurs with a couple likely to have returned for this match. James Maddison is currently down with what could be a minor setback but Brennan Johnson is out with a hamstring strain.

Meanwhile, Ivan Perisic is out for the season after rupturing the ACL in his knee. 

Line-ups

Edwards will want to keep things simple now that performances are coming together for his team as they enter a crucial run of fixtures. Continuity will be key for this team going forward. 

Top scorer Carlton Morris is a big presence for his team with the goalscoring responsibilities and hopes hanging on his shoulders. He should be paired in attack with Jacob Brown while Tahith Chong acts as a third midfielder behind them.  

Luton Town: Kaminski; Bell, Lockyer, Burke; Kabore, Nakamba, Lokonga, Doughty; Chong; Morris, Brown

Spurs captain Heung-Min Son is expected to lead the attack to a comfortable victory after they will have contended with a stubborn Luton defence and the partisan support. Only Erling Haaland (eight) has scored more Premier League goals than Son (five) this season. 

James Maddison will be orchestrating the play as his creativity has been a key factor behind the team’s upturn in attacking form this season. 

Tottenham: Vicario; Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Maddison, Solomon; Son

Prediction

Luton are the lowest scorers so far in the league with just three goals and it will take a stunning turn of events for them to secure any form of a result. The Hatters will certainly be clinging on to their defensive shape as well as loud home support to see them through games that these fans will remember for a lifetime. 

Tottenham will have too much for a side with a poor defensive record as they are set to give the hosts a rough afternoon on the pitch. 

Luton Town 0-3 Tottenham Hotspur