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Liverpool face a tricky midweek Premier League matchup as they host Luton Town at Anfield on Wednesday, in a rescheduled fixture from the coming weekend thanks to the Reds reaching the EFL Cup final.
It’s a brutal run of fixture congestion for Liverpool, who face the prospect of navigating the Premier League title race amidst the EFL Cup final this coming weekend, plus the Europa League Round of 16 fixtures to come in the first and second weeks of March.
Mohamed Salah’s return from his AFCON injury couldn’t have been better timed, as he was forced to come off the bench early last time out to replace an injured Diogo Jota, and bagged a goal and assist in a 4-1 win over Brentford. The Reds remain beset by a long list of fitness concerns, and Jota’s issue will see him sidelined for over a month, as will fitness concerns for Alisson and Curtis Jones amongst others.
Luton Town are in good form but remain amidst the relegation battle, suffering a cruel 2-1 defeat to Manchester United last time out despite controlling much of the game and creating a number of scoring chances. They sit in the final safe spot at the bottom of the table, just a point above Everton in 18th.
USA: Click here to see the latest odds for Liverpool vs Luton Town and bet Premier League matches
Luton Town are exactly the kind of team that can trouble an injury-stricken Liverpool who might be caught with their eyes on other matches to come in the next week or two.
While they fell to Manchester United last time out, in truth, they dominated the midfield and should have come away with points from that match. Defeat was, in essence, quite cruel.
If Luton can finish their chances against a Liverpool side missing key midfielders and their exceptional goalkeeper, they can pull out a shock result against a team that will refuse to counter and instead plays a tempo that Luton can keep up with.
DraftKings (USA) |
|
Liverpool win | -500 |
Draw | +700 |
Luton Town win | +1100 |
Both teams to score Y/N |
-130 / +105 |
Over / Under 3.5 goals |
-130 / -105 |
Liverpool -2.5 goals |
+130 |
Luton Town +2.5 goals |
-175 |
With the over utterly useless in this matchup between two fast-paced, attack-minded teams, we look instead to options with a more palatable return. With Luton and Liverpool, you’d be hard-pressed to find two sides more skewed towards after halftime. If you took only second-half performances, Liverpool would hold a six-point lead atop the Premier League table, while Luton would be 15th, outside the relegation zone.
The Hatters especially have both scored and conceded the second-highest percentage of their goals in the second half throughout the year, with 65 percent of their goals scored and 64 percent of their goals conceded coming after the break. Zooming in further, Luton have 14 goals in the final 15 minutes of games alone, compared to just 20 across the entire rest of the clock.
Liverpool, meanwhile, have scored the most second-half goals of any Premier League side (37) as they have collected the most points from losing positions in the English top flight. Expect this match to open wide up after the break, as it did in their first meeting, a 1-1 draw, when the sides combined for 2.65 xG after halftime and both late goals, as opposed to just 1.01 before it.
This is Mohamed Salah’s Liverpool attack now. He is back from injury at the most opportune and necessary time, while Diogo Jota and Dominik Szoboszlai are on the shelf. Liverpool did well to perform in his absence, but now that the Egyptian has returned, he will take full control of the side.
Against a Luton Town side that tries to run with its opponents, there will be ample opportunities for him to pick up goal contributions, especially if there’s added urgency from Luton keeping up with the Reds on the scoresheet.
Salah has contributed a goal and assist in only three Premier League games this season, a surprisingly low total given his prolific numbers in both categories, but all three have come since the start of December, a span of six appearances bracketing his time out injured.
TV channel | Streaming | |
USA | USA Network, Universo | Fubo USA, Peacock, NBC Sports app, Telemundo Deportes en Vivo, Universo NOW |
Canada | — | Fubo Canada |
UK | — | — |
This match will be broadcast in the United States on USA Network, with streaming available on Peacock and the NBC Sports app. There is also a Spanish-language broadcast on Universo, who will stream the game on their dedicated platforms as well.
Both English-language and Spanish-language broadcasts are available on Fubo in the United States, with a free trial available for new users.
The exclusive home of the Premier League in Canada is Fubo, with every match of the 2023/24 EPL season streamed on the platform.
In the UK, this match will not be broadcast on television. As it was originally part of the Saturday 3 p.m. local time kickoff, it is still subject to the traditional domestic blackout despite being rescheduled for midweek.