On Saturday afternoon, Everton will face Luton Town at Goodison Park as two teams predicted to compete for positions at the bottom of the Premier League standings square off.

The Toffees and the Hatters had quite different outcomes in the third round of the EFL Cup last week, with the former defeating Aston Villa and the latter falling to third-tier Exeter City.

Although there is still a lot of ambiguity around Everton’s ownership situation, Toffees supporters have had a lot to cheer about on the field after watching their team follow up its first Premier League win of the season with advancement in the EFL Cup.

Abdoulaye Doucoure, James Tarkowski, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored for Sean Dyche’s team as they defeated Brentford 3-1 on the road last weekend. On Wednesday, the latter scored once more along with James Garner as the Toffees defeated Aston Villa 2-1 to set up a fourth-round matchup with Burnley at the end of October.

In order to grind out back-to-back victories, Dyche has emphasized the relentless mindset of his players. Dyche intends to build on those triumphs going into upcoming favorable home matches against Luton and Bournemouth, which will mark his 500th game as a manager.

Everton will be looking to improve their home form in the upcoming weeks as they have only won one of their past eight Premier League games in front of their own fans, losing each of their first three games this season by a 1-0 margin.

The Toffees haven’t lost their first four home league games since the 1958–1959 campaign, and no English top-flight team has ever lost their first four home games without scoring.

While Luton is still looking for their first Premier League victory since winning promotion last season, Everton finally opened their account for the new season with a victory last weekend. However, Luton did at least earn their first point in a 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers at home last Saturday, salvaging a share of the spoils with a contentious penalty.

The Hatters were unable to build on that successful outcome, however, as League One team Exeter defeated them 1-0 on Tuesday thanks to a goal from Demetri Mitchell in the 83rd minute. This ended the Hatters’ chances of completing a 16-year wait to go to the EFL Cup fourth round.

After the game, Rob Edwards conceded that his significantly altered team ‘did not deserve to go through’ due to a lackluster showing in the final third. However, an early cup elimination may really be a gift in disguise for Luton, whose prime concern is still ensuring their survival in the top division.

Luton, who are currently 18th in the table with just one point from five games, will try to make their Premier League debut when they play Everton and Burnley in back-to-back games that have a good chance of going well. Losing both games, however, will undoubtedly raise questions about their ability to compete at the top level.

The Hatters enter Saturday’s contest having failed to win each of their last six league meetings with Everton, but they did secure a narrow 1-0 EFL Cup win over the Toffees at Kenilworth Road in their last encounter back in October 2007.

Team News

Everton boss Dyche has revealed that a few of his players are nursing knocks including left-back Vitaliy Mykolenko and will be assessed ahead of kickoff, while Seamus Coleman (knee), Andre Gomes (calf) and Dele Alli (groin) all remain in the treatment room.

Jack Harrison impressed on his Toffees debut in midweek and the winger is set to battle with Arnaut Danjuma and Dwight McNeil for a start on the flanks against Luton.

It remains to be seen whether Calvert-Lewin can start back-to-back games up front, so summer signing Beto is an option to lead the line, while the likes of Doucoure, Idrissa Gueye and Ashley Young will all be pushing to start after beginning as substitutes last time out.

As for Luton, Albert Sambi Lokonga is facing up to two months out with a hamstring injury, and he will join Gabriel Osho (knee), Jordan Clark and Dan Potts (both ankle) on the sidelines, while former Everton midfielder Ross Barkley will be assessed ahead of kickoff after missing the last three games with a thigh problem.

After making 10 changes in midweek, Edwards is expected to revert to a side similar to the one that drew with Wolves last weekend, with Reece Burke, Tom Lockyer and Amari’i Bell all set to link arms in a back three between wing-backs Issa Kabore and Alfie Doughty – the latter impressed against Wolves and then started against Exeter, but will face competition from Ryan Giles to retain his spot on the left flank.

Either Tahith Chong, Luke Berry or Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu could start in centre-midfield alongside Marvelous Nakamba, while Carlton Morris could be supported in attack by Jacob Brown and Chiedozie Ogbene, which would see Cauley Woodrow and Elijah Adebayo drop down to the substitutes’ bench.

Everton possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Patterson, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Young; Danjuma, Gueye, Onana, Doucoure, McNeil; Beto

Luton Town possible starting lineup:
Kaminski; Burke, Lockyer, Bell; Kabore, Mpanzu, Nakamba, Doherty; Brown, Morris, Ogbene

We say: Everton 2-1 Luton Town

While Saturday’s game cannot be considered a must-win at this early stage in the season, both teams will be aware of the importance of claiming maximum points in their quest to boost morale and climb the table.

Everton’s poor home record bodes well for a Luton side who are desperate to claim their first Premier League win, but we believe that the Goodison Park faithful will roar the Toffees to a slender victory.