Luton v Manchester City: Premier League – live | Premier League

40 min: Townsend has space on the right but his cross lands safely into the hands of Ederson. City launch a counter-attack but Luton regain their shape and the play ends with Kyle Walker sending the ball into orbit with a shot from the right.

38 min: Rodri misplaces a pass and Townsend intercepts, driving down the right before Doughty finds the ball in the box – his cross is blocked, though.

36 min: City are peppering hopeful shots towards the Luton goal – there’s a slight sense of desperation to it all as Kovacic blazes over.

35 min: The sun pokes out at Kenilworth Road as Rodri presses forward but can’t find the killer ball – the ball eventually breaks for Grealish, but his shot from the edge of the box is blocked by an orange top.

34 min: Andros Townsend has room for a shot from outside the box and he finds the target – but it’s a simple save for Ederson.

33 min: Silva threads a ball from the right through to Foden, who drives into the box to collect it, but Kaminski is off his line to collect and stop the prospect of a shot.

31 min: Luton work it nicely down the left-hand side, but they can’t find any control in City’s half, the ball constantly lost to the champions.

28 min: Grealish has room on the left to dribble into the box, and he plays a lovely neat ball through the legs of Mengi to find the advancing Álvarez, who tries to poke the ball in from close range with his right foot … but he gets it wrong, shooting wide.

27 min: Foden picks up the ball on the half-turn, finds just enough space on the edge of the box and pings a fierce shot low across the goal … but Kaminski gets a strong hand on it. It’s a fine save diving to his left.

25 min: All rather packed out there in the middle of the pitch, with very little space for City to work their magic.

23 min: No danger from the corner and Luton win a free-kick in their own half after Rodri fouls Brown.

22 min: A lovely chipped ball from Silva finds Gvardiol driving forward on the left, and he cuts inside to shoot with his right foot, the ball deflecting out for a corner.

20 min: City are now finding their beat, launching regular waves of attack, primarily through the left-hand side with Gvardiol heavily in the mix.

19 min: Rodri forces a fine save from Kaminski, the goalkeeper diving to his right to deny the midfielder, who whipped in from the edge of the box.

18 min: Rodri and Gvardiol work it well on the left before the full-back sends in a low cross… but there’s no white shirt on the end of it.

17 min: Luton are starting to find their rhythm with the ball, and they’re hassling well when they don’t have it. Foden is taken down in his own half by Bell.

16 min: Doughty crosses in from the left, and it’s a nice, deep ball, but Gvardiol gets a head on it to send it out for a throw.

15 min: Rodri, shirt tucked in, ready for business, is there in the middle already putting out fires. But he gives away a free-kick on Luton’s left-hand side … this could be their first proper chance of the afternoon.

13 min: All rather quiet at the moment, with Gvardiol winning a free-kick near the halfway line as he launched into a mazy dribble.

11 min: Townsend flicks on with his head, letting Adebayo chase the ball down on the right wing. It leads to a Luton throw, but the men in orange are pushed back to their own goal by City.

10 min: Grealish tries to play a quick one-two with Álvarez, who is taken down on the halfway line by Lockyer. Free-kick to City.

8 min: Mengi is helped to his feet and looks like he’ll probably be OK to keep going.

7 min: Mengi clashes with Grealish and the Luton man looks in some agony, with the docs rushing onto the pitch to have a look.

6 min: Grealish dances into the middle before the ball comes to Gvardiol on the left, with the full-back sliding in a low cross that is blocked.

4 min: Adebayo nicks the ball in midfield to earn the appreciation of Kenilworth Road, but City get it back and recycle it to their own goal.

2 min: Bernardo Silva slides in Phil Foden, who shoots from the left-hand side of the box, forcing a decent save from Kaminski. The rebound effort doesn’t cause any trouble.

1 min: City, as expected, have most of the ball, passing it around tidily.

Peep!

“Not a vintage year for movies, but I was very impressed by M3GAN (M3GAN on Letterboxd https://boxd.it/jxmG),” writes Gary Naylor. “It concerns a humanoid robot that causes havoc. I can’t imagine why it came to mind reading a Manchester City MBM…” Cheers for the rec, Gary.

Goals galore at the Emirates if you fancy checking in there.

“Good morning, Taha, from a cold and grey Indianapolis!” Good afternoon, Joe Pearson, from a cold and grey north London. “Although he was a Brentford fan as a youth, and eventually served on the Board, Rick Wakemen is now reportedly a big City fan. So how about a cut from ‘Six Wives’? A little ‘Catherine of Aragon’ would fit the bill.” I’ll be honest, Joe, I don’t know who that is – I’ve been forced into a quick Google – but let’s give this a play:

“So Haaland has a foot injury. But where’s Jérémy Doku?” asks Ric Arthur from Toronto. He picked up an injury against Spurs and missed out against Villa, too.

These sides haven’t met this century – but they’ve still got history. Here’s Niall McVeigh heading back to 1983.

Haaland’s got a foot injury, explains Guardiola – Álvarez will lead the line for Manchester City.

The teams

Luton’s line-up is in …

As is City’s – where’s Erling?

Preamble