Luton vs Manchester United LIVE: Premier League result and final score after Rasmus Hojlund double

Luton fans may be looking over their heads at the relegation zone but manager Rob Edwards is only looking up. A big win against Brighton and an impressive draw against Newcastle showed that the Hatters can trouble the best sides in the league and that is where Edwards wants his side to be sooner rather than later.

“Our long-term aim, as stupid as this may sound, is to try and be mixing it with those big teams,” he said at his pre-match press conference.

“I think we’ve done well in certain areas but we know we’ve got to keep improving and working hard as well to keep the backdoor shut. If we play well then hopefully we can knock them off their rhythm and not allow them to play the game they want.

“If they are allowed to play the game they want, they will be too good for us. We’ve got to make sure we are at it and we compete.”

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag does not think a six-match unbeaten run means their season has turned a corner but he believes they are “back in the race” for the top four.

Having won just twice in nine matches and lost five in December, United have now won five and drawn one of their last six.

Last weekend’s victory at Aston Villa was important as it kept them within six points of fourth-placed Tottenham and with games to come against Luton, Fulham, Everton, Sheffield United and Brentford – notwithstanding the Manchester derby in that sequence – maintaining that sort of form will push them closer to Champions League qualification.

“First of all I think it is too quick to say we turned a corner. We are not there yet. We are still not in a position,” said Ten Hag.

“We are back in the race but we are not in the position we want to be because this club definitely wants to be a minimum of top four so we have to catch up. But I think we are now in a good direction.”

Read more of the Dutchman’s thoughts below:

Off the pitch, it’s been another busy week at Old Trafford, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS looking to continue their overhaul of the senior management team by luring Dan Ashworth from Newcastle.

Manchester United are willing to wait for a year for Ashworth to start as their director of football and will not pay Newcastle £10m to ensure he can begin straight away.

United are preparing an official approach for Ashworth, Newcastle’s sporting director, and are also interested in appointing Jason Wilcox – currently Southampton’s director of football – to assist him.

But while Newcastle could put Ashworth on gardening leave or demand a huge sum to release him straight away, United will not be held to ransom.

Read more details from Richard Jolly below:

Erik ten Hag, meanwhile, names an unchanged lineup from the side that beat Aston Villa last Sunday. That means Shaw has been passed fit after coming off at half-time last week, while matchwinner McTominay remains on the bench with Mainoo and Casemiro preferred in central midfield.

Man Utd XI: Onana, Dalot, Varane, Maguire, Shaw, Mainoo, Casemiro, Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford, Hojlund

Subs: Bayindir, Evans, Lindelof, Amad, Amrabat, Eriksen, Forson, McTominay, Antony.

Just the two changes for Luton as former United players Chong and Mengi come into the starting XI.

Burke and Clark make way, with Ogbene potentially pushing further forward to play alongside Morris and Adebayo in the front three.

Luton XI: Kaminski; Bell, Osho, Mengi; Chong, Barkley, Lokonga, Doughty; Ogbene, Morris; Adebayo.

Subs: Krul, Berry, Woodrow, Kabore, Burke, Mpanzu, Clark, Townsend, Nelson.

We should be expecting team news any moment now - will there be any surprises in store?

For Luton, meanwhile, last week saw Rob Edwards’ team come out on the losing side of a relegation six-pointer against Sheffield United. T

The Hatters are still out of the relegation zone but were undone by the Blades, in part due to a lacklustre first half in which Cameron Archer and James McAtee – from the penalty spot – scored to open a two-goal gap.

They rallied after the break, halving the deficit with a penalty of their own from Carlton Morris.

Yet in pushing for an equaliser they were left exposed on the break, and on just such an attack Vinicius Souza rattled one past Thomas Kaminski to seal a first win on the road for Chris Wilder’s side and shine a glimmer of hope over their survival bid.

United come into this fixture buoyed off the back of their dramatic 2-1 win against Aston Villa last Sunday.

From what seemed the wreckage of a wretched season, Erik ten Hag’s team are on a charge towards the Champions League places. Their longest winning run of the campaign brought their best result; a second late winner against Aston Villa in seven weeks meant the gap between them, which could have swelled to 11 points, has instead been sliced to five. Lose and United’s hopes of overhauling Unai Emery’s team would have been unrealistic at best. Victory gave them the momentum while Villa have three straight home defeats.

Here’s a recap of their victory:

Luton will be striving to get back to winning ways in the Premier League but will be tested by an improving Manchester United at Kenilworth Road on Sunday.

The Hatters suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of relegation rivals Sheffield United last time out, preventing them from opening a four-point cushion to 18th place Everton.

After crushing Brighton 4-0 in their last home outing, Rob Edwards’ men were off the pace against the Blades and paid the price.

United have found a rhythm since the winter break, winning three straight Premier League games to move into contention for a top-four berth following their victory over Aston Villa.

United are odds-on to win at Kenilworth Road with football betting sites and the hosts are at top price of 13/4 to return to form. Here are our predictions using the best Premier League odds.