Following a potentially important weekend in the Premier League relegation battle, Luton Town manager Rob Edwards has projected that the Hatters would need four victories from their next six games to stay in the top level.
Third-from-bottom Luton’s win over Bournemouth on Saturday brings them level on points with 17th-placed Nottingham Forest, who lost 3-1 at Tottenham yesterday. The Reds are also awaiting the outcome of an appeal against a four-point deduction for violating profit and sustainability criteria, which could have a significant impact on who is cut at the conclusion of the season.
Luton now have three home games remaining against Brentford, Everton, and Fulham, as well as travels to Manchester City, Wolves, and West Ham. Forest, on the other hand, will host Wolves, Manchester City, and Chelsea while also facing relegation opponents Everton, Sheffield United, and Burnley on the road.
Edwards believes that winning Luton’s remaining home games will not be enough to prevent an instant return to the Championship. He explained: “I’m not sure how many points it will require. I’m not sure what is going to happen elsewhere.
“Clearly, next week will be difficult against City away (on April 13). We’ll go there with a strategy and try to compete as we have in every previous game. We understand how difficult this is and what they are fighting for.
“After that, we have five games against clubs that we can get points from. Clearly, they will be quite essential. We’ll have to apply the pressure, as we did against Bournemouth.
“If I say three wins, do we have a chance? I do not know. We might need four, or we might need another 12 points from the remaining games, which is quite a lot.
“We’re in the fight at the moment, we’re in that mix,” Edwards added. “It’s tough to say what we’ll require. We’ll go into each game determined to win. We’ve got some games there that we’ll go into with full confidence.”
The big surprise in the top-flight relegation battle could be Everton’s upcoming points deduction decision. They have already received a six-point fine, and a decision on their second profit and sustainability case this term is expected this week, which may potentially benefit Forest and Luton.
