Luton Town welcome leaders Arsenal to Kenilworth Road
For the first time in 32 years, Luton Town and Arsenal will do battle in a top-flight fixture when they square off at Kenilworth Road in Tuesday’s Premier League affair.
Luton Town fell to a 3-1 defeat to Brentford over the weekend, while Mikel Arteta‘s men extended their lead at the top of the table by seeing off Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1.
Luton Town have not been torn to shreds at their Kenilworth Road base so far this season, though – Tottenham Hotspur only won by the one goal while Liverpool were held to a score draw – but all of Manchester City, Newcastle United and Chelsea will also visit the hosts’ humble ground before 2024 rolls around.
All three of Luton’s home defeats this season have been by just the one goal, but with no fewer than three fresh defensive injury concerns rearing their ugly heads, the Hatters could prove easy pickings for the league leaders on Tuesday.
With Tuesday’s game representing Arsenal’s third match in the space of a week, Kai Havertz and Jorginho should also come into Arteta’s thinking, but Nketiah’s glaring miss against Wolves may harm the Englishman’s efforts to displace Gabriel Jesus up top.
Fatigue in Arteta’s camp will do the Gunners no favours either, but the Arsenal boss has plentiful options for change in all areas of the field and should oversee a sixth successive victory at Kenilworth Road, with another away clean sheet to add to the collection.
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Burnley travel away to take on Wolverhampton Wanderers
On the back of their resounding 5-0 win over fellow relegation battlers Sheffield United, Burnley will travel to the Molineux to take on Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday.
Wolves, meanwhile, fell victim to an explosive start from Arsenal and ended up conceding a narrow 2-1 defeat at the Emirates. Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard fired the Gunners to a two-goal lead by the 13th minute of the game.
Although Wolves have played some exciting matches in recent weeks, their form is starting to look worrying. Saturday’s defeat marked a third loss in their last four matches.
Wolverhampton Wanderers have failed to win any of their last seven matches against Burnley in all competitions.
Burnley have conceded one defeat in their last 12 league meetings with Wolverhampton Wanderers. They have won six and drawn five.
Burnley are likely to show up on Tuesday with a spring in their step. Wolves, despite their poor recent record, are not to be trifled with. A raucous Molineux is likely to buoy them on to a win in a hard-fought contest.
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FA charges Man City for failing to control players in Tottenham game
Manchester City have been charged by the Football Association with failing to control their players in Sunday’s 3-3 Premier League draw with Tottenham.
Players surrounded referee Simon Hooper when he awarded a free-kick to City late in stoppage time after it looked like Jack Grealish was through on goal.
Hooper initially indicated City had the advantage and waved play on, but halted the match once the pass was played.
City have until Thursday, 7 December to respond to the charge.
An FA statement said the defending champions “failed to ensure their players do not behave in a way which is improper.”
Striker Erling Haaland was one of several City players to remonstrate with the official and he continued his protests after the game by reposting a clip of the incident on X, formerly Twitter, with the comment “Wtf”, which is offensive slang.
However, the FA will not be handing out any further charges relating to the fixture, so Haaland is not facing an individual punishment.
It is the third Premier League game in succession that City have drawn, having also been held by Liverpool and Chelsea, and they sit third in the Premier League with a three-point gap to leaders Arsenal.
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Newcastle consider shock move for David de Gea
Newcastle are considering their options, including a possible move for free agent David de Gea, as they await the results of scans on Nick Pope’s shoulder injury.
Pope is facing a lengthy lay-off, with an operation currently considered the most likely course of action amid an expected absence of around four months, after he was forced off late on in Newcastle’s 1-0 win over Manchester United with a repeat of the dislocated shoulder problem he suffered while at Burnley.
Goalkeeper Pope did not play for just over five months on that previous occasion between July 2018 and January 2019.
Newcastle are hopeful his absence this time will not be quite as long and he will be back before the end of the season with the length of his spell on the sidelines and severity of his injury set to become clearer after seeing specialists during the next 48 hours.
Still his injury will be a major blow for Eddie Howe and Newcastle with Pope a key part of their success since his £10m arrival from Burnley in June 2022.
It will impact Pope’s hopes of regaining his place in England’s squad ahead of the Euros and could also force Newcastle into the transfer market to reinforce their goalkeeping department.
Mail Sport understands De Gea is one potential option Newcastle have looked at. He left Manchester United in the summer after 12 years at Old Trafford but has yet to join a new club.
Credit: dailymail.co.uk
