Everton host Luton Town in the FA Cup tomorrow afternoon and they will look to build on the recent win over Crystal Palace with a positive performance at home.
The Toffees have picked up just one win from their last six matches across all competitions and the home fans will be expecting a strong reaction from the players here.
Everton are already fighting the relegation battle in the Premier League and it remains to be seen whether they can extend their stay in the cup competitions and give the fans something to cheer about.
Meanwhile, Luton Town are coming into this game on the back of a win over Bolton in the FA Cup and they will look to grind out a positive result here. They have not lost in five of the last six matches across all competitions and the away side will fancy pulling off an upset here.
Team News and Tactics
Everton
The home team will be without the services of Dele Alli who has been ruled out with an injury. Abdoulaye Doucoure, Seamus Coleman and Andre Gomes are all sidelined with knocks.
Idrissa Gueye is away on international duty because of the Africa Cup of nations.
Everton will shape up in a 4-5-1 formation with Joao Virginia in goal.
Nathan Patterson and Vitaly Mykolenko will start as the fullbacks and they will look to contribute at both ends of the pitch.
James Tarkowski will start alongside Jarrad Branthwaite in central defence. In the midfield, Amadou Onana will start as the defensive midfielder and he will look to break up opposition attacks. Lewis Dobbin and James Garner will start alongside him.
Jack Harrison and Arnaut Danjuma will start in the wide areas and they will look to open up the Luton defence with their pace and flair.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin will lead the line for Everton here.
Probable Lineup (4-5-1): Virginia; Patterson, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Harrison, Garner, Onana, Dobbin, Danjuma; Calvert-Lewin
Luton
The away side are without the services of Mads Andersen, Tom Lockyer and Marvelous Nakamba because of injuries. Issa Kabore is away on international duty because of African Cup of nations.
Luton will shape up in a 3-4-2-1 formation with Tim Krul in goal.
In the back three, Reece Burke will start alongside Teden Mengi and Amari’i Bell.
Chiedozie Ogbene and Alfie Doughty will start as the wingbacks. The two players will look to protect the central defence and help out in the attack.
In the middle of the park, Pelly Mpanzu will start alongside Ross Barkley. Jordan Clark and Andross Townsend will start as the attacking midfielders here and they will look to create goal scoring opportunities for Carlton Morris in the attack.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Krul; Burke, Mengi, Bell; Ogbene, Mpanzu, Barkley, Doughty; Clark, Townsend; Morris
Key Stats
- 8 goals have been scored in the last three meetings between these two sides.
- Everton have won two of their last three meetings with Luton.
- Everton are unbeaten in their last three matches across all competitions.
- Luton are unbeaten in five of their last six matches in all competitions.
- Everton have kept a clean sheet in their last three matches across all competitions.
Key Player
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
The 26-year-old striker is our key man to watch out for. Luton could struggle with his physicality and areal prowess here.
Given the way the Everton midfield is set up, they are likely to try and create goal scoring opportunities from the wide areas and Calvert-Lewin will look to attack the crosses.
Everton will need him to step up and deliver if they want to go through to the next round of the competition.
Prediction
Everton 2-1 Luton
Everton are undoubtedly the better team on paper and they will be determined to progress through to the next round of the competition.
The win over Crystal Palace would have given them a confidence boost and it remains to be seen whether they can grind out a result here.
Everton have not conceded in their last three matches across all competitions and they should be able to pick up a narrow victory here.
