West Ham vs Luton Town: Preview, Prediction & Betting Picks

West Ham hosts Luton Town looking to get back on track, while the visitors desperately search for three points in their fight for Premier League survival.

Date: 11/05/24

Kick-off time: 5 am PDT

ET Venue: London Stadium

This is a crucial game at both ends of the table. West Ham's hopes for another season of European football have faded after their 5-0 thrashing at Chelsea. They're currently ninth with 49 points, five behind both Chelsea and Manchester United, although both those teams have played fewer games. With two games remaining, they need to win both and hope for multiple results to go their way. There's still a chance they could finish in the bottom half, so a win is necessary to maintain their position.

Luton's Premier League status hangs by a thread after their 1-1 draw against Everton last week. They remain in 18th place, three points from safety with a significantly worse goal difference compared to Nottingham Forest. Therefore, winning their last two games is their only chance of survival. Anything less than three points will likely send them back down to the Championship.

The Hatters should be confident of scoring considering West Ham's recent defensive struggles. In their last four league games, West Ham has conceded 14 goals, including five each at Chelsea and Crystal Palace. Luton received a boost with the return of joint top scorer Elijah Adebayo, who netted his 10th goal of the season in his first game back last time out. Carlton Morris is another threat upfront. David Moyes' men haven't been as potent as earlier in the season, but they still have players that can trouble the opposing defense. Jarrod Bowen has enjoyed an excellent campaign with 16 goals and six assists, while Mohammed Kudus has contributed seven goals.

These two sides have only met once this century, which was the earlier fixture this season. Their last meeting before that came all the way back in 1994 in the FA Cup, which Luton won. The Premier League fixture last September at Kenilworth Road ended with a narrow 2-1 victory for West Ham. Bowen opened the scoring in the first half before Kurt Zouma added another late on. Mads Andersen pulled one back for Luton in stoppage time.

West Ham Team News

Nayef Aguerd might return from a lengthy ankle injury, potentially giving David Moyes a fully fit squad.

Luton Team News

Issa Kabore and Marvelous Nakamba are out for the season, while Chiedozie Ogbene has a slim chance of returning for one game. Mads Andersen is further ahead in his recovery and could potentially return this weekend.

West Ham Form Guide

It's been a rough five-game stretch for the Hammers, who crashed out of the Europa League along the way. This slump started with a disappointing 2-0 home loss to a shaky Fulham side. Even though there were chances for both teams, Andreas Pereira scored in each half to secure the win for the Cottagers.

West Ham then shifted their focus to Europe, where they faced the undefeated Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen. The Germans held a 2-0 lead after the first leg, but the second leg was closer. West Ham led 1-0 for most of the game thanks to a Michail Antonio goal, but they couldn't find the second goal to force extra time. Their hopes were dashed when Jeremie Frimpong scored in the 89th minute to tie the game 1-1.

Back in Premier League action, they were crushed 5-2 by their London rivals Crystal Palace. The Eagles were up 4-0 by halftime before Antonio pulled one back before the break. However, they couldn't close the gap. They responded with a 2-2 draw at home to Liverpool in an exciting game. Jarrod Bowen gave them the lead right before halftime, but Andrew Robertson equalized almost immediately after the restart. Alphonse Areola accidentally put the ball in his own net to give Liverpool the lead, but Antonio scored another to salvage a point. Their most recent outing was a trip to Chelsea where they were shut out 5-0. They hit the crossbar multiple times but couldn't keep their opponents out as Cole Palmer, Conor Gallagher, Noni Madueke, and Nicolas Jackson (twice) all found the back of the net for Chelsea.

Luton Town Form Guide

Luton's had a tough run of games as their chances of staying in the Premier League have taken a big hit. Their most recent game was a home draw 1-1 against Everton, who recently secured their safety. The visitors took the lead through a Dominic Calvert-Lewin penalty, but Elijah Adebayo equalized just past halftime to share the points.

This followed a 2-1 away loss at Wolves. The hosts took the lead thanks to a Hwang Hee-Chan strike before halftime, and doubled their advantage shortly after the break. Carlton Morris pulled one back with 10 minutes remaining, but Luton couldn't complete the comeback.

Before that, they were thrashed 5-1 at home by Brentford. The Bees were up 2-0 at halftime before adding three more goals. Luke Berry scored a consolation goal in stoppage time. This was Luton's second consecutive 5-1 defeat, as they were hammered by Manchester City the week before. Daiki Hashioka accidentally scored an own goal to open the scoring for City, followed by a Mateo Kovacic screamer. Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku, and Josko Gvardiol all got on the scoresheet for City, while Ross Barkley netted a late consolation goal for Luton.

Their only win in this stretch came against Bournemouth, where they came back from a 1-0 deficit to win 2-1. They conceded a goal to Marcus Tavernier in the 52nd minute, but goals from Jordan Clark and Morris secured the victory for the Hatters.

This is a must win for Luton in their hopes of survival, but West Ham are also in need of three points as they try to regain form. The Hatters will offer a good fight, but the quality of the hosts should be too much to overcome – West Ham 2-1 Luton

West Ham vs Luton Town will be available to watch on the Peacock Network (An NBC live-streaming Platform)