Rob Edwards, manager of Luton Town, previews Liverpool’s visit to Kenilworth Road and teases his game plan for Sunday.
Liverpool’s visit to Kenilworth Road will be a “really good occasion,” according to Luton Town manager Rob Edwards, who also stated that his players will not make it easy for their Reds counterparts.
The match on Sunday will be the first between the two clubs in the Premier League, as well as the first since Liverpool won the FA Cup 5-0 in 2008.
At the opposite end of the table, the visitors have taken 23 points out of a possible 30, while the hosts have only five. As a result, many people believe that a Reds victory is the most likely outcome.
However, Edwards, who led the Hatters to promotion via the Championship Play-Offs in his first season at the club, understands what it takes to pull off a surprise result.
“We’re looking forward to it as much as we have to every game.” Really good occasion – these are the types of games that we wanted to have here, which is why we were promoted, and the next step is to prepare well and perform well in the games,” he said at a press conference on Friday. “We want everyone to try and enjoy it but at the same time we want to try and find a result.”
“It’s difficult because the majority of people do not [stop Liverpool].” We have to be really good, and we have to defend really well as a team. We need to be very good with the ball at the right times. We must try to attack at the right time and at the right speed, which will be difficult against a team that is very good at winning the ball back and counter-pressing quickly.
“It’s a difficult challenge, but it’s also clear; we know what’s coming.” Liverpool isn’t going to change, so it’s a good one to prepare for. “I’m excited about it.”
Luton Town’s only victory of the season came away from home against Everton. They’ve also drawn away at Nottingham Forest, and their only home point has come from a stalemate against Wolves.
Only Tottenham Hotspur have visited Kenilworth Road this season, out of the so-called ‘big six’. The hosts were able to withstand significant pressure in that match, but the North Londoners prevailed 1-0. Edwards hinted that his strategy for Sunday would be similar.
“We want to turn up the heat and press at the right moments, we want to be more aggressive, but at the same time we can’t open up too many spaces too soon either, so balance is the key,” he said. “If you leave any gaps, they can quickly expose you and hurt you.”
“Our job is to figure out how to get a result in the game.” There are ways to lose games, but I don’t want to open up against teams like this because you can be exposed to some big scorelines, which is not what we want.
“We want to make sure we’re in the game come the latter stages, to be able to have a right go as well, so balance is the important message there.”
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