Sabasports Match Preview
Premier League: Crystal Palace vs Luton Town
Kickoff Time: 2024-03-09 23:00 (HKT)
Source:REUTERS/Matthew Childs
After Roy Hodgson’s resignation as Crystal Palace coach due to health
reasons, Oliver Glasner, the manager who led Frankfurt to victory in the Europa
League during the 2021-22 season, took over as the interim coach for Crystal
Palace. Under Glasner’s guidance, they have shown significant improvement in
recent performances and overall strength. Glasner’s transformation has
primarily focused on two aspects: enhancing the midfield’s success rate in
confrontations and increasing the speed of their attacks. During Hodgson’s
tenure, Crystal Palace predominantly played defensively and relied on
counterattacks. They were the Premier League team with the lowest average
running distance and fewest sprints per game. However, under Glasner’s
coaching, the players are running more, faster, and making more sprints. In
their recent home victory over Burnley with a scoreline of 3-0, Crystal Palace
managed to create 15 shots and win 33 confrontations, while only allowing their
opponents two shooting opportunities. This demonstrates that Crystal Palace’s
offense has become more proactive, and their defense has become more stable
compared to before.
Newly promoted Luton Town are currently under immense pressure to
avoid relegation. Their recent run of five league games without a win has
pushed them into the relegation zone, with Everton overtaking them. Despite
investing a significant amount of money in signings after reaching the Premier
League, Luton’s improvement in terms of strength has been relatively limited.
They lack the same depth in their lineup and skillful and tactical play
compared to other Premier League teams. Skillfully and tactically, Luton
primarily rely on defensive counterattacks. They deploy their troops in
midfield, aiming to create numerical advantages and complete steals before
launching attacks in the forward areas. This style of play aligns with the
traditional British football approach. However, Luton’s reliance on this
strategy has been hindered by the absence of their 1.93-meter center-forward,
Elijah Adebayo, who has been sidelined with an injury since mid-February. This
has resulted in a breakdown of their high ball tactics and has contributed to
their recent losing streak. Furthermore, Luton’s defense has been severely
impacted by a wave of injuries. In the last round of matches, center-back
Amari’i Bell sustained an injury in the sixth minute of the game. Combined with
the absence of Gabriel Osho, another center-back who was injured in
mid-February, and veteran captain Tom Lockyer, who has been out for an extended
period due to heart problems, Luton’s defense is in need of reconstruction.
This has also played a role in their recent string of defeats.
Given Crystal Palace’s recent positive performance under coach Oliver
Glasner and the challenges faced by Luton, it is understandable to believe that
Crystal Palace has a good chance of securing all three points in their upcoming
match.
Crystal Palace’s Last 5 Games: LWDLL
24-03-02 Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Crystal Palace
24-02-24 Crystal Palace 3-0 Burnley
24-02-20 Everton 1-1 Crystal Palace
24-02-13 Crystal Palace 1-3 Chelsea
24-02-03 Brighton 4-1 Crystal Palace
Luton Town’s Last 5 Games: LLLLL
24-03-03 Luton Town 2-3 Aston Villa
24-02-28 Luton Town 2-6 Manchester City
24-02-22 Liverpool 4-1 Luton Town
24-02-19 Luton Town 1-2 Manchester United
24-02-10 Luton Town 1-3 Sheffield United
Head To Head Record:
23-11-25 Luton Town 2-1 Crystal Palace
07-02-24 Crystal Palace 2-1 Luton Town
06-09-09 Luton Town 2-1 Crystal Palace
05-11-26 Luton Town 2-0 Crystal Palace
05-08-06 Crystal Palace 1-2 Luton Town
Prediction: Crystal Palace to
win