Everton have won four of their last five league matches without conceding
– Luton have lost 11 of their last 14 matches in all competitions
– Recommended bet: Everton to win & both teams score
Everton have secured their Premier League place with an impressive late surge but they can push Luton closer to the drop with a comfortable win at Kenilworth Road on Friday evening.
The Toffees are out of their sticky situation following a six-match sequence which has seen them win four times, draw once and lose the other.
Only Chelsea have proved too strong for Sean Dyche’s men in that period and they can enjoy their final few weeks of the season with the pressure off.
The same cannot be said for Luton who start the weekend a point adrift of safety with three matches left to play, but it looks a tricky triumvirate of matches with West Ham and Fulham still to come after this Toffees test.
Team news
Luton’s Issa Kabore, Marvelous Nakamba, Jacob Brown, Amari’i Bell, Dan Potts and Chiedozie Ogbene are all missing, and Mads Andersen is a major doubt. Elijah Adebayo could feature having made his return from a lengthy absence in last week’s loss at Wolves.
Vitaliy Mykolenko will miss the remainder of Everton’s campaign along with Nathan Patterson and Dele Alli. Beto is on the mend after a recent head injury and should return before the end of the season.
Seamus Coleman, Lewis Dobbin and Dominic Calvert-Lewin face late fitness tests for this match.
The stats
– Everton have won four of their last five league matches without conceding
– Luton have lost 11 of their last 14 matches in all competitions
– The Hatters have won two of their last nine home games in all competitions
– Everton have failed to win their last 10 away fixtures
Prediction
Everton have a miserable record on the road this season but they could record a rare away win now that the threat of relegation has been removed.
The Toffees have won four of their last five matches and can breathe a sigh of relief now that their Premier League safety has been guaranteed.
And, the huge lift that that will give them could see them enjoy a successful end to the campaign in which they can finally look up and not down.
Their winning run has come at just the right time, but the Toffees have not just scraped those victories, they have been hugely impressive in doing so.
All four wins came while keeping a clean sheet and fellow strugglers Burnley and Nottingham Forest were brushed aside with ease, while bitter rivals Liverpool were blown away in a pulsating Merseyside derby.
An air of caution should be advised, as each of those victories came on home soil, and away from Goodison Park this season, the Blues have been poor, and they have lost two meetings with Luton, both 2-1 already this season, so keeping a home goal on side is advised.
However, prior to that, Everton had won on their last two visits to Kenilworth Road and they can secure another triumph now that they are full of confidence, while it will be Luton who could be weighed down by the pressure of relegation.