Injury-hit Luton could travel to treble-winning champions Manchester City tomorrow with zero fit centre backs and boss Rob Edwards has said that ending their 40-game unbeaten home run could be one of the “greatest results ever”.
The Hatters, already with ten senior players out injured, will be missing ineligible City loan ace Issa Kabore, but are now also sweating on the availability of defenders Reece Burke and Teden Mengi.
Neither centre half has trained this week and if they’re not deemed fit enough to play, Edwards will have to devise a way to stop Erling Haaland, Kevin de Bruyne, Phil Foden and co without a single specialised central defender.
“None of the players that were injured are involved and we’ve lost at least one of the team that was fit last Saturday,” said the Town boss, adding: “We’ve got seven centre backs at this club and none of them have trained this week, so we’ll see where we stand for tomorrow. Obviously, we’ve got no Issa Kabore because he’s ineligible, so it’s great!”
Edwards added: “Teden went down twice in the game last week, he pushed through to help us to win that game against Bournemouth but he was in a lot of pain. Burkey missed the games previous to that, so neither of them have trained this week.
“We’re hopeful but we’ve obviously got to try and get it right because we’ve got five really important games after that, that we’ve got to be thinking about as well.
“They are big big doubts because they haven’t trained this week, which isn’t ideal anyway. We’ll give them as much time as possible. If we don’t get both maybe we’ll get one but it might be we don’t get either so we’ll see. It’s just difficult at the moment but the players, again, are responding really well.
”Whatever (team) we can put out we’ll give it absolutely everything, we’ll be well organised, we’ll be committed, we’ll try and be brave, try and play our way and we’ll try and win but we know it’d be really difficult.”
Asked if he’s had to prepare for the possibility that neither Burke or Mengi return and what that would look like in Manchester, Edwards said: “Of course we have and I don’t know! Still now, is my answer to that.
“If we get something from the game this could be the greatest result of the century with some of the problems that we’ve got at the moment.
“It is some challenge and I don’t want to sound defeatist but it will be one of the greatest results ever if we do go and win the game.
“But I do, and we all believe this, I stand in front of them (players) and I did the meeting this morning talking about the game plan, going through it, and I genuinely believed then that we can go and do it, and I felt that for every single game this year. And the lads have gone and trained like it as well.
“And we have to go with that mindset. It’s a game of football, it’s 11 men against 11 men and anything can happen. They’re 11 supremely talented players, whoever he (Pep Guardiola) picks. We know that but we’re well up for it, we’re really looking forward to it.”
To add to the scale of the task facing Luton, Man City have unbeaten in their last 26 games in all competitions. That included a 6-2 defeat for Town this season, the last time the two teams played in the FA Cup, in which Haaland scored five, De Bruyne assisted four of them, while Foden has scored nine in as many Premier League matches. Both are doubts but are expected to feature.
Elsewhere, Rodri is unbeaten in his last 66 appearances for City in all competitions, though Guardiola’s side have lost their last four league games when the Spanish midfielder has not played.
Edwards said: “Football is a strange game, but we can go there with a belief and the confidence that stranger things have happened, but recognising how good they are. They’re a brilliant team, and probably the greatest manager of all time and a wonderfully talented group of players that, whoever he plays, they’re all world-class.”
On his depleted side, the Luton boss said: “We’ll have to make some changes from last week. We are already depleted so it’s a huge challenge at the best of times going here but the players have been great.
“The players that have been available have been amazing and for them to be given us what they have been giving us over this last month has been really tough and they deserve so much credit and they’re going to deliver again tomorrow we know that.
“What we can’t guarantee is a victory or any kind of points but we’ll certainly give it everything to do that.
“The feeling around the place is really positive today, we’ve trained like a team that believes they can really go and get something.
“We’re in the situation we’re in at the moment so let’s try and attack the game, And I’m really looking forward to it. It’s a privilege to go and play against them (City).”
