Luton Town

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Emma Smith, BBC Sport

Job done for Luton - but not without being pushed hard over three hours of football by a third division side.

Rob Edwards' side huffed and puffed for long periods over both games, despite dominating possession and chances.

Although they responded quickly to Bolton's opener, Luton never felt in control of a very open game in which both sides struck the woodwork.

Eventually Premier League quality told, with league regulars Ross Barkley and Carlton Morris heavily involved in the build-up for Chiedozie Ogbene's winner.

Luton's fight against relegation has been thrown into uncertainty this week by potential point deductions for Everton and Nottingham Forest.

In comparison, the certainty of an FA Cup run - and the potential morale boost it could bring - is clearly being welcomed by Edwards.

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Premier League side Luton Town came from behind to beat League One's Bolton in their FA Cup third round replay.

Dion Charles raised the roof by putting the third-tier hosts ahead on 11 minutes, but Tahith Chong equalised just four minutes later.

An exciting end-to-end game was decided by Chiedozie Ogbene, whose goal puts Luton in the fourth round for the fourth successive season.

Luton will now visit Crystal Palace or Everton on 27 January.

Were you at Toughsheet Community Stadium or did you follow the match from elsewhere?

Hatters fans - let us know your thoughts on the game here

Follow all of the reaction here

Bolton Wanderers are hosting Luton Town at Toughsheet Community Stadium in an FA Cup third-round replay, with kick-off less than an hour away.

Get all the build-up followed by live text updates here

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Luton Town midfielder Jayden Luker has joined National League Woking on loan until the end of the season.

The 18-year-old, who signed a contract extension in November, has been an unused substitute on four occasions for the Hatters' first team this season.

He played for Lambeth Tigers growing up before joining Luton in the summer of 2022.

Luton Town boss Rob Edwards has been speaking to the media before Tuesday's FA Cup third-round replay at League One Bolton Wanderers.

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• On possible rotation: "We have the opportunity to [make changes], but we will select a side capable of winning the game and one which will go into the game with the right mentality. But it doesn’t matter what team I pick, we need the right mentality to be on it."

• When asked about his side's recent late goals, Edwards says it "shows very good character, good fitness, and shows we’re able to change the game tactically or from the bench". He added: "Hopefully we can get a few more early on and still continue to get some late as well."

• On Tuesday's opponents: "Bolton are a good team, especially at home. They'll fancy they can win the game, and why not? They came to our place and drew and performed well. We’ll respect them and prepare accordingly."

• On switching focus from the relegation battle: "To be honest, it’s human nature to get up for Premier League games, but the mentality, focus and attitude needs to be right for the cup games – and that’s how the lads have trained."

• On continuing with the right mentality, Edwards added: "Let’s go do that. We’ve still had a bit of a break, that’s no problem. It's a game we’re looking forward to."

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Alex Howell, BBC Sport

There's been reports linking him to the club but Luton Town's Teden Mengi is not a player that's being considered as a future signing for Crystal Palace at the moment.

The Eagles have Joachim Anderson and Marc Guehi - who are their first choice partnership - and Rob Holding and James Tomkins as back ups in the position.

Mengi has been impressing for Luton this season and manager Rob Edwards said that his team would not weaken themselves in the transfer market this window.

We asked you for your thoughts on Friday's match between Burnley and Luton Town.

Here are some of your comments:

Burnley fans

Richard: A brilliant performance by Burnley in a tough fixture against a very good Luton team. What an appalling decision for the Luton goal. Should we now be looking for a secondary VAR review to review VAR's many mistakes? Laughable.

Dave: Yes it was a poor decision by the ref/VAR, but it was also a poor decision by James Trafford to come for that ball with so much in front of him. Too many players seem to have accepted that we are already down. Either that or they don’t care. A poor performance overall, but credit to Luton, they played well, with Barkley bossing the midfield.

Paul: The draw felt like a defeat. We were poor tonight. That equaliser would have been disallowed in any other game. It feels like there are two sets of rules -one set for us and another for every other team. That said, we probably didn't deserve the win.

Colin: I'm not convinced that James Trafford has the height or physique to command the penalty area at set pieces.

Luton fans

Kevin: The Town dominated the game for long periods and overall were the better team. Fully deserved a draw and possibly more. Vincent Kompany was probably more upset with his own team than the VAR referral. Burnley were very limited despite massive spending on players.

Phillipe: For the away side, they had far more possession and were more of a threat. A draw in the end was a fair result but Luton were marginally the better team. Barkley a class above the rest.

Dave: Putting up a real fight, true underdog fighting spirit! Keep this up and we will survive.

Nigel: Luton's approach play and pressing was excellent. Their wide players were always available as an excellent outlet for the ball. I also feel that sometimes they could improve in the final third. The final ball occasionally is not as good as they would like. Barkley though is really coming alive, which is a massive plus.

Gary Lineker introduces highlights and analysis from Saturday's two Premier League fixtures, as well as Friday night's match between Burnley and Luton

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up on the action on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to Saturday's BBC Radio 5 Live match commentary in full on BBC Sounds:

• Newcastle 2-3 Manchester City

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Luton boss Rob Edwards to BBC Sport after his side drew 1-1 to Burnley on Friday night: "I'm really pleased with the late point. I feel we deserved at least that. The performance was excellent. Any point away from home is welcome.

"It was a real mixture of feelings and emotions at half-time. We were dominant. But I was frustrated we were 1-0 down. We didn't play as well in the second half as we did in the first but we kept trying to do the right things.

On Ross Barkley's performance: "We love him. He's loving his time here. Continue to do what he's doing and I know he'll get a lot of plaudits. There's a lot around him playing really well."

On their controversial late equaliser: "I think if I'm being honest if it's against me I'd be very disappointed like they are. But if it had been disallowed it would have been quite soft. It's a difficult one. I'm pleased they made that decision clearly because it got us a point but I understand their frustrations.

"It's hard. It comes down to opinion. I'm glad it's gone for us tonight. That's the fault if there is one [with VAR] that it comes down to opinions. I'm pleased it's gone for us."

• Burnley have now dropped 18 points from winning positions in the Premier League, with only Brentford dropping more (20). They’ve only won two of their last seven games when taking the lead (D2 L3).

• Luton have scored 10 goals in the final 10 minutes of Premier League games this season – only Liverpool have scored more (13).

• Luton’s Alfie Doughty registered his fifth Premier League assist via a cross this season – only West Ham United’s James Ward-Prowse has as many assists from crosses (also five).

• Carlton Morris ended a run of 13 Premier League appearances for Luton without a goal, netting his fourth goal of the season and first since September against Everton.

• No player has more Premier League goals for Burnley this season than Zeki Amdouni (4 - level with Lyle Foster). The only Swiss players with more goals in a Premier League season are Xherdan Shaqiri (8 in 2017-18, 6 in 2018-19) and Granit Xhaka (7 in 2022-23).

• Burnley’s Johann Gudmundsson became the fourth Icelandic player to reach 150 Premier League appearances, after Hermann Hreidarsson (332), Gylfi Sigurdsson (318) and Eidur Gudjohnsen (211).

Image source, Getty Images

Neil Johnston, BBC Sport

They might be in the bottom three but Luton's fighting spirit remains unquestionable.

Not for the first time they left it late to rescue a point, this time against fellow strugglers Burnley at an angry Turf Moor.

Home fans were disgruntled as Carlton Morris' header was allowed to stand after claims keeper James Trafford had been fouled.

A lengthy VAR check followed and jeers rang around the ground as it was allowed to stand.

The point was enough to see the Hatters join Everton on 16 points.

Will there be new faces in the squad when Luton are next in Premier League action on 30 January?

With the playing future of Tom Lockyer uncertain following his cardiac arrest last month and midfielder Marvelous Nakamba out with a serious knee injury, boss Rob Edwards could move to bolster his squad.

Luton scored a controversial 92nd-minute equaliser to deny Burnley a crucial win in a game of huge significance at the bottom of the Premier League.

Burnley looked set to claim a rare victory after a dogged defensive performance following Switzerland forward Zeki Amdouni's 36th-minute deflected finish at a raucous Turf Moor.

But Carlton Morris headed the Hatters level in the closing moments.

There was a lengthy check by the video assistant referee (VAR) after Elijah Adebayo appeared to nudge keeper James Trafford as Morris scored.

But the goal was allowed to stand much to the anger of the home fans.

The result leaves Burnley, who have played one more game than the teams around them, in deep trouble, four points from safety.

Luton remain in the relegation zone but are now level on 16 points with 17th-placed Everton.

Were you at Turf Moor or did you follow the match from elsewhere?

Burnley fans - let us know your thoughts on the game here

How did you rate the side's performance, Luton fans?

Follow all of the reaction here

Burnley are hosting Luton Town at Turf Moor in the Premier League, with kick-off at Turf Moor less than an hour away.

Get all the build-up followed by live text updates here

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In the latest episode of Luton in the Prem, Luke Ashmead, Geoff Doyle and Simon Oxley preview the Hatters' upcoming Premier League encounter with Burnley and look back at the 0-0 draw with Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup Third Round.

Doyle is surprised that Ryan Giles, Luton's record signing, did not play against Bolton on Sunday, after not featuring regularly for the Hatters in the league either.

"He is not getting in the Premier League side and we know why," he said.

"Because Alfie Doughty is playing extraordinarily well and even when Doughty is moved across to the right, Giles hasn't got in. Jacob Brown, for instance or Ogbene [has played instead].

"He was a big signing in the summer and he probably thought 'Premier League, here I come'. But if he is not getting into the FA Cup team, what team is he getting in? Maybe the manager doesn't think he is ready yet for the Premier League. I am sure he will be and he is still a young player who has maybe not developed as much as he liked, so what is his future?

"I only picked on Giles because of the money involved. You could add Luke Berry to that, you could add Cauley Woodrow to that and Pelly Ruddock-Mpanzu to that. But what was interesting with Rob [Edwards] when we spoke to him in the press conference is that he doesn't want to shake it up too much."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds.

Image source, Reuters

Luton manager Rob Edwards says Burnley "can - and have - hurt bigger and better teams" than the Hatters this season and are a difficult opponent for his side, despite Vincent Kompany's team being lower in the table.

The two clubs were promoted from the Championship together at the end of last season - Burnley as champions and Luton via the play-offs.

The Clarets won 2-1 at Kenilworth Road in October but go into Friday's match four points behind their visitors, who will climb out of the relegation zone if they win at Turf Moor.

"We see every game as an opportunity to get three points and this is the next one," said Edwards. "If we do, then great, we can jump up a little bit for a few hours at least, but there's a long way to go this season.

"It's a good challenge for us. This is a really difficult game and we've got to look to perform well in it because otherwise we've got no chance. Burnley have been close in a lot of games.

"We concentrate on the performance and hopefully the result will look after itself. I think they [the players] are ready to show people that we can compete against anyone."

BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches again this season, against a variety of guests.

For part one of week 21 - due to the Premier League's winter break - he takes on singer-songwriter and Tottenham fan Declan McKenna.

The first game for the duo to predict is Burnley v Luton, who lock horns on Friday evening (19:45 GMT).

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

This is a difficult one to kick off with.

Burnley beat Luton at Kenilworth Road earlier in the season but they have a terrible home record with just three points picked up from a possible 30 so far.

It's a huge game for Vincent Kompany's side because they are four points behind the Hatters, who are also in the bottom three.

Win it, and they not only beat the team immediately above them, it could also be seen as the launchpad for the improvement they will surely need at Turf Moor if they are going to stay up.

It's not a must-win game in terms of the points that are up for grabs, but feels like it because of the belief that a victory would give them.

I just do not see it happening for them on Friday, though. For starters, the Clarets do not score enough goals - they have managed only 20 in their first 20 games - and Luton appear to be far more streetwise.

By that, I mean Luton seem to know how to get a result even when their performance probably doesn't merit one.

Declan's prediction: 2-2

I'm thinking this will be a heated contest.

I'm inclined to fancy Luton but Turf Moor will make it tough for them.

Read the full predictions

In the latest episode of Luton in the Prem, Luke Ashmead, Geoff Doyle and Simon Oxley preview the Hatters' upcoming Premier League encounter with Burnley.

Doyle believes a victory for the Hatters at Turf Moor would be a massive result, given they were defeated by the Clarets at Kenilworth Road earlier in the season.

"Rob Edwards downplayed it because managers do that but certainly it would be a great stimulus for Luton that they had gone and beaten one of the sides that were below them and moved further clear of them.

"The way that Burnley are playing - they have only won three Premier League games this season and are struggling to find a win. So it would be a big boost for Luton, but Burnley beat them earlier in the season at Kenilworth Road and also beat them late last season as well."

Oxley: "It would be a huge win for Luton but I think it would be more damaging to Burnley.

"You would feel that there would be a certain psychological effect on Burnley if Luton go there and pick up all three points.

"I don't know that it's a must-win for Luton, but I think it's a must-not-lose."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds.

If the art of good management is getting the best out of the resources at your disposal, then Rob Edwards is doing an outstanding job at Kenilworth Road.

Luton have made 'The Kenny' a tough place to go, with Edwards putting together a side that is full of energy and belief as well as skill. Ross Barkley has been rejuvenated while outstanding professional Andros Townsend has been a shrewd acquisition.

The Hatters go into the rest of the season with hope of Premier League survival and the chance to make fools of those of us who predicted a painful demise.

Current position: 18th.

McNulty's pre-season prediction: 20th.

What McNulty said in August: "It is difficult to see Luton surviving but I would take great pleasure in being proved wrong."