The current Premier League facts are very well known around Luton Town's Brache training ground. However, the blinkers are on, as murmurs of Evertonian point deductions with Nottingham Forest's rulings are out of mind and still yet to come.
Manager Rob Edwards knows, that even with a group depleted by injury, top-tier survival is still very much in the Hatters' hands.
Although being four points from safety, the Bedfordshire side have a game in hand on Nottingham Forest. Plus, after the upcoming challenge of Unai Emery's Villans - Luton's March consists of games against three teams directly above them in Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Forest. Edwards began the press conference by looking over his walking wounded.
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Team News
“We’re not far off where we were from the City game the other day. Gabe Osho will be a no. We’re going to give Amari’i Bell (hamstring) as much time as possible. I don’t think we lost anyone else in the City game."
"It’s a longer list than I would like but we’re not the only team that’s got a few missing at the moment. It gives opportunity to other people. We’re confident that we can go into the game with a strong team. There might be a few young lads on the bench.”
One of those young lads, and a veritable benchmark for Luton's academy, is Joe Johnson. Yet, seemingly when it rains it pours - and while Osho won't feature with Bell carefully monitored, Johnson may only feature briefly against the travelling Villa.
“Joe’s actually been ill the last few days, he hasn’t even been in today. He might be alright to be involved, but he’s not well enough to start."
In the previous, pre-Manchester City press conference, Edwards spoke of potentially seeing Elijah Adebayo and Albert Sambi Lokonga return this weekend. However, the optimism around those two has faded significantly. When asked about the pair's status, Sky Sports' correspondent was greeted with a straightforward response.
"No. Nope."
Frustration could only quietly build as defender Dan Potts was mentioned. The former West Ham graduate has been with the club since 2015, yet has found Premier League outings limited due mainly to his recovery from consistent injuries. Edwards mentioned his sadness at seeing Potts hit with yet another setback in this season's rehabilitation.
“I couldn’t talk about it before the game the other day, but he had a nasty hamstring injury in training. It’s really disappointing for him. (...) Bless him, he was upset the other day but he’s back in and he’s got his head around it now and he’s got to be focussed on getting right again.”
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From Haaland to Watkins: Luton feeling the unrelenting nature of the Premier League
As stated before with the injury crisis, issues and challenges always seem especially emphatic in the first division. On Tuesday, the headline grabbing foe was Erling Haaland. Tomorrow, the latest hotshot striker in town will be Ollie Watkins, a man who already boasts 14 goals and 10 assists in 26 games this term. Edwards spoke about transitioning from one deadly opponent to the other.
“Clearly, they’re both brilliant players. Ollie Watkins is having a fantastic season. He’s been getting better and better with age. He’s looking like, in the Premier League in terms of English strikers, he’s right up there with the best at the moment. There’s not much he can’t do. I’ve been really impressed with him. He’s scoring goals, he’s linking it in behind. He holds it up, he presses well. He’s looking like the complete striker, so it’s another difficult day for us.”
While it may be a difficult day for Luton's defence, what is well-documented is the consistent fight that's present in the team. The team will be offered a bit of reprieve, as said, with some more favourable games that follow - yet Edwards was assured in his group's mindset. Plus, as seen with the drab defeat at home to Sheffield United, no side can be underestimated or fixture disregarded.
“Well, this is the next game and this is the most important one. I completely get your question, and we do have to think about that, you are spot on but this is the next game. All of our focus and attention is on Villa right now. We’re working really hard, the staff are working really hard to try and get as many bodies back as possible. We’re not going to write off Aston Villa because of the next three games, that’s not how it works in the Premier League."
He continued, and offered something of a rallying cry.
"We’re going to need everyone. The supporters are going to be right onboard with us and backing us as well and I think it was good for us seeing Anfield last week. Liverpool had been decimated with injuries, but seeing everyone coming together through the difficulties they’ve got and with the young players coming in. They were one nil down against us at half time, then seeing what they created on the pitch and in the stands was really impressive. It was a club really coming together in a difficult moment and it’s similar for us. It’s going to be all of us together and we’re looking forward to a really good challenge tomorrow.”
Aside from the obvious shot at three vital points, Saturday's fixture also offers the chance to see just how Luton have developed from their last outing against Unai Emery's side. Looking back on that 3-1 away defeat at Villa Park in October, Edwards was determined his team have grown and can be buoyed by playing in front of a raucous home crowd.
“They’re a brilliant team and they can play in a few different ways. They’ll try and take control, even more so try and get in behind you at the earliest opportunity if they can. That happened to us too many times at their place, so that’ll be an area that we’ll know and they’re still very good at it. I watched them against Forest. They’re a really good team, but I always say it, Kenilworth Road is a slightly different game anyway but we are a different team playing a different way from that game. I think there’ll be a lot of differences from that game at Villa Park.”
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Make or break March? Edwards on "13 cup finals" until end of season
A repeated theme throughout, March offers Luton the chance to claim some valuable points against teams that are right above them in the Premier League table. The Hatters boss acknowledged the importance of these matches, while remaining typically collected.
“It is big, I’m not going to sit here and lie. It’s not the be all and end all, but they’re important games. Clearly. That’s obvious. But again, they all are. I know what games we’ve got coming up but Villa is all we’re focussing on right now. Certainly, the three after that before the international break are huge games. They’re only going to get bigger and bigger as it goes on now until the end. If they are getting bigger and bigger, that means we’re doing something right, as we’re still in that mix as well. So, four really big games now before the break.”
A key performer with two goals against Pep Guardiola's Man. City on Tuesday, Jordan Clark defiantly claimed that the final third of the season involves "13 cup finals". Edwards supported these claims in yet another valiant stance.
“That’s what it is, definitely. We’ve got 13 games in the league now and every single one of them are of the utmost importance. Villa are next, after that Palace will will become the next important - that’s just how we’ve got to be. We’ve got some real tough ones. They’re all difficult, they’ll all bring different challenges.”
