Newcastle United vs Luton Town

Resurgent Newcastle United entertain hot relegation candidates Luton Town in a high-stakes Premier League fixture at St James’ Park.

As a long-standing injury crisis at St James’ Park starts to subside, Newcastle’s form is taking an upward trajectory, with a morale-boosting 3-1 demolition of Aston Villa in midweek Premier League action making it three wins in their last four domestic assignments (L1). Despite becoming the first Premier League side to beat Villa in Birmingham in over a year, the ‘Magpies’ can’t afford to rest on their laurels as they commence this round a whopping 11 points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham. On top of that, after racking up an eye-catching eight wins in their opening nine home league matches of 2023/24 (L1), Eddie Howe’s charges have lost their last two top-flight contests on Tyneside, alarmingly conceding three goals on both occasions. Further pessimism stems from the fact they slumped to a narrow 1-0 loss in the reverse fixture in December.

In the meantime, Luton put on a show in midweek as they netted three unanswered first-half goals en route to an overwhelming 4-0 home triumph against Brighton, extending their winning streak to three games in all competitions. Not only have Rob Edwards’ men escaped relegation territory at the expense of Everton, but they recorded their third win in five Premier League matches (D1, L1). Departing Kenilworth Road could spell trouble, knowing they’ve lost 60% of their top-flight away contests this season (W2, D2, L4). However, a two-game unbeaten league streak in the hostile setting (W1, D1) paints a more vivid picture. Any hope of staging another upset hinges on Luton’s defense, considering they’ve averaged a meager 1.1 goals per Premier League travel this term.