Luton Town vs Everton: Preview and Prediction

Luton Town cannot afford to drop points when they host Everton at Kenilworth Road on Friday.

The 2023/24 Premier League season will end soon, with only three rounds of matches left before the curtain falls. Week 36 begins with a rare game on Friday night, with Luton Town hosting Everton at Kenilworth Road in a crucial clash in the relegation fight.

Luton Town entered the 2023/24 season as one of the favorites to be relegated to the EFL Championship. While the Hatters have spent most of the campaign in the bottom three, they have impressed everyone with their resilience and dogged displays. However, resilience will only have one so far, considering that Rob Edwards and his charges are running out of time to ensure safety.

As for Everton, they have endured a tumultuous 2023/24 campaign so far. The Toffees have had uncertainties surrounding their status, having been handed a ten-point penalty before the authorities reduced it. Recent reports have suggested another sanction could be on the cards. However, unless that happens, Sean Dyche and his charges are safe after opening up a ten-point lead over Luton Town.

Luton Town and Everton have met twice this season, with the Hatters claiming a 2-1 win in both matches. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.

Team news and tactics

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Rob Edwards has no new injury problems to hamper his preparations ahead of his team’s final game. On Saturday against Everton, the Luton Town manager will be without the services of eight first-team players.

Tom Lockyer could have played the last game of his career after suffering a heart attack in December. Meanwhile, Issa Kabore (ankle), Amari’i Bell (hamstring), Mads Andersen (calf), Chiedozie Ogbene (thigh), Dan Potts (hamstring), Jacob Brown (knee) and Marvelous Nakamba (knee) remain on the radar. .

However, there have been suggestions that Edwards could take a risk with Edwards, although that may not happen. So Teden Mengi, Reece Burke and Gabriel Osho will form the central defensive trifecta, with Thomas Kaminski taking his place between the sticks.

As for the midfield, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Ross Barkley cannot be left out. Daiki Hashioka and Alfie Doughty should be the two full-backs, with the duo providing width in the final third. Tahith Chong should repeat no. 10 and pull the strings in advanced areas, with Carlton Morris and Elijah Adebayo leading the line for Luton Town against Everton.

Probable lineup (3-4-1-2): Kaminski; Mengi, Burke, Osho; Hashioka, Lokonga, Barkley, Doughty; Chong; Morris, Adebayo

Everton

Unlike his counterpart on the Luton Town bench, Sean Dyche has new problems to deal with ahead of the trip to Kenilworth Road. The Everton coach will be left without three first team players this Friday.

Vitaliy Mykolenko is the latest absentee after suffering a season-ending ankle injury last weekend against Brentford. The Ukraine international joined Nathan Patterson (thigh) and Dele Alli (groin) on the bench. Meanwhile, Dyche is sweating over the fitness of Seamus Coleman (groin) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin (illness).

Jordan Pickford is an automatic choice between the sticks, with Everton lining up in a 4-4-1-1 formation in front of him against Luton Town. The backline should feature Ben Godfrey, James Tarkowski, Jarrad Branthwaite and Ashley Young.

As for the midfield unit, Jack Harrison, James Garner, Idrissa Gueye and Dwight McNeil cannot be overlooked. Harrison and McNeil should provide width in the advanced areas, with Gueye and Garner looking to keep things tight in the middle of the park. Calvert-Lewin should lead the visiting team’s line, with Abdoulaye Doucoure playing behind him.

Probable alignment (4-4-1-1): Pickford; Godfrey, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Young; Harrison, Garner, Gueye, McNeil; Doucouré; Calvert-Lewin

Key statistics

• Luton Town have already beaten Everton twice this season, once in the Premier League and once in the fourth round of the FA Cup. As a league club, the Hatters last beat another team three times in one season in 1988/89 (West Ham United). Leeds United in 1964/65 were the newly promoted club to beat the Toffees three times in one season.
• Luton Town have won just one of their last 14 Premier League games (D3 L10), and no team has earned fewer points than the Hatters since the start of this run (six). Despite this, they have failed to score in just one of their most recent 23 top-flight games – a 2-0 defeat at league leaders Arsenal last month.
• Everton are winless in nine Premier League away games (D3 L6) since beating Burnley 2-0 in December. Five of the Toffees’ first eight league wins this season have come away from home, but the four most recent wins have all been at Goodison Park.
• Carlton Morris is Luton Town’s top scorer in the Premier League this season with ten goals. He has scored in four of his last six games at Kenilworth Road, and also scored the Hatters’ winning goal in the first leg against Everton.
• Ross Barkley, who made 150 league appearances for Everton between 2011 and 2017, has scored just one goal in ten Premier League games against teams he played for previously in the competition. That goal came in a match at Kenilworth Road this season in a 3-2 defeat to Chelsea.

Player to watch

Ross Barkley

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When the going has gotten tough, Ross Barkley is often the player to put his hand up and produce a game-changing performance for Luton Town. Very few gave him the chance to resurrect his stuttering career when the Hatters took a chance on him last summer.

However, the Englishman has made his mark with aplomb throughout the 2023/24 season. Barkley has arguably been Luton’s best player, and the hosts need him to step up and guide them to safety from relegation. Expect a breakthrough performance from the former Everton talisman as he looks to lift Luton Town out of the relegation zone.

Prediction

Luton Town 2-1 Everton

The two teams have been at the opposite end of the form spectrum in recent weeks. However, the Hatters have seemingly had the measure of Everton so far this season, even if both wins came within a one-goal margin. The hosts have the added motivation to survive, considering that they are running out of time to ensure their safety.

So, with your backs to the wall, expect the Hatters to leave everything on the field and try to secure the three points. However, the Toffees have a solid defensive unit and are unlikely to concede many chances. But Friday should see a very close encounter, with Rob Edwards’ charges claiming a 2-1 victory with a prolific display to keep their hopes alive.