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

Manchester City travel to Kenilworth Road on Tuesday night to face Luton Town in the Emirates FA Cup quarter-finals.

To advance to this stage of the competition, Pep Guardiola’s side defeated Huddersfield Town 5-0 at home, while Nathan Ake struck an 88th-minute winner at Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Manchester City has a great record in the Emirates FA Cup since Pep Guardiola took over the club in 2016, and they will meet 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 57th minute winner from Chiedozie Ogbene, who has massively impressed this season, saw The Hatters progress

Then came their Premier League relegation rivals, Everton. A pretty equal encounter, with former Fulham star Cauley Woodrow scoring in the 96th minute to explode the away end.
While Rob Edwards’ team would want to compete in the quarter-finals, a trip to Aston Villa in the Premier League may force them to rotate their squad. However, this appears improbable because if they win this match, they will be one win away from a trip to Wembley.

Manchester City have a difficult test against Luton Town, which they must be prepared for. The Hatters have previously struggled to win games, but their performance at Anfield will give them hope. Despite leading at halftime, they eventually lost the match.

However, there were some positives to take away from the setback, and there is hope that they may be able to capitalise on a potentially rotated Manchester City team.

Team News
Pep Guardiola delivered some fitness updates at his news conference, describing Jack Grealish and Josko Gvardiol as “good”. While they have yet to train with the team, Gvardiol is “on the verge of returning,” which may indicate that this tie is just a few days too soon, since he previously stated that he was unsure whether he would be available.

Aside than that, everyone is fine, and there are no new injuries to report.

Alfie Doughty, who was substituted early in Luton’s 4-1 loss to Liverpool, is fit to play. Daiki Hashioka has the potential to make his debut. Despite joining Edwards’ club in January, the Japanese international has yet to play.

Issa Kabore will be unable to face his parent club due to the rules of his loan agreement, while Arsenal-loanee Albert Sambi Lokonga and club top scorer Elijah Adebayo will be out due to hamstring injuries.
Mads Andersen, the defender, will also miss out due to a calf injury. Jacob Brown, who is recovering from a knee cartilage operation, will be out of action for the foreseeable future, with a return date undetermined.

Tom Lockyer is unavailable, as predicted, after suffering a heart arrest in December. Marvellous Nakamba, a Zimbabwean midfielder, is suffering from a knee injury, with Edwards saying in January that a return to activity will be impossible for several months.

Head to Head.
These two teams have played 50 times over the years, with the most recent meeting occurring in 1999 before this season began. Manchester City have won 25 of those 50 matches, compared to Luton’s 14.

In the Premier League, this match has already occurred. Guardiola’s team won 2-1 at Kenilworth Road in December.

In that victory, Adebayo gave the home team the lead before a quick double from Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish turned the game on its head at the 65th minute.

Statistics
This is the first FA Cup match to be played since 1969.
Luton Town are hoping to make their first appearance in the quarter-finals of this competition since the 1993/94 season.
Manchester City have reached the quarterfinals in every season under their current management, with the exception of 2017/18, when they were defeated 1-0 by Wigan Athletic.
Luton Town have not won any of their last four games, conceding 13 goals in the process.
Manchester City has won three games and drawn one, with the tie coming against Chelsea.

How To Watch
The match will air on ITV 1 in the United Kingdom. Coverage will begin at 19:30 GMT, with kickoff at 20:00 GMT.

The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ in the United States, with a kickoff time of 15:00 EST.

If you do not live in the areas listed above, you can find your nation in the full global TV listings, which are available here!

City Xtra will also provide live game coverage on our X, Facebook, and Instagram pages, as well as a live WatchAlong show on our official YouTube channel!