"They will be too strong" - Chris Sutton makes scoreline prediction for Manchester City vs Luton Town
Chris Sutton has backed Manchester City to comfortably see off Luton Town when the two teams meet in the Premier League on Saturday (April 13) at the Etihad.
In the reverse fixture at Kenilworth Road last December, City needed two goals after the hour mark to record a 2-1 comeback win. It was a more straightforward affair at the same venue in February, when they beat Luton 6-2 in the FA Cup fifth round.
Sutton sees the upcoming league game as being similarly easy for the hosts, who are in the race for the Premier League title once again. Predicting a 3-0 win for the defending league champions, the former Chelsea forward wrote in his BBC column:
"Manchester City had to fight to see off Luton in the league at Kenilworth Road earlier in the season, then smashed them in the FA Cup.
"This game is probably going to be more like their last meeting and I am expecting City to win comfortably but, whatever happens to them at Etihad Stadium, Luton will keep on fighting... I still don't feel as if City are at their imperious best but they will be too strong for Luton."
Luton recorded a priceless 2-1 comeback win on April 6 to halt Bournemouth's impressive three-game winning streak in the Premier League. The Hatters are 18th in the league table with 25 points from 32 matches, trailing 17th-placed Nottingham Forest by a -4 goal difference.
Manchester City, meanwhile, are third with 70 points from 31 matches, trailing leaders Arsenal and Liverpool by a solitary point.
Manchester City have highly important Champions League fixture after Luton Town encounter
Manchester City's league clash against Luton Town is sandwiched between their two UEFA Champions League quarter-final matches against Real Madrid.
The Cityzens played out an enthralling 3-3 draw against Los Blancos in the first-leg tie on April 9. That match would have taken a lot out of Pep Guardiola's men, given the intensity that comes with playing against a team like Real Madrid.
They have to do that all over again, this time at the Santiago Bernabeu, just four days after playing Luton Town. City, of course, won the UEFA Champions League last season after beating Real Madrid in the semifinals (agg. 5-1) in the process.
They did the treble last season and will be eager to become the first English team to defend their Champions League/European Cup title since Nottingham Forest in the 1979-80 season.