Chris Sutton predicts Everton v Luton in FA Cup clash – ‘I suspect both managers…’
Chris Sutton has predicted Everton will claim a victory over Luton Town when the two sides meet in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday (27 January).
Writing on the BBC Sport website on Thursday (25 January), the pundit said it’s going to be very interesting to see how the teams approach the game given that they are both currently in the bottom four of the Premier League.
He suspects both managers will be looking towards their games against Fulham and Brighton on Tuesday (30 January) as he predicted the Toffees to claim a 1-0 win at Goodison Park.
“Everton’s form has fallen away, although they got over the line against Crystal Palace in their third-round replay,” said Sutton. “We know Luton never stop fighting and they got their reward with their late equaliser against Burnley last time out.
“Both of these teams are in the bottom four, so it is going to be very interesting to see how they approach this tie. I suspect both managers will be looking to their games next Tuesday when Everton go to Fulham and Luton host Brighton.”
Opportunity
Although you could purely view this as an FA Cup game that has no bearing on the Premier League, perhaps it is an opportunity for Everton to land a psychological blow on Luton.
It won’t have any direct impact on either of their standings in the league table, but a convincing victory could send a message to the Hatters that the Toffees are a force to be reckoned with as they battle it out for survival.
But Sutton is right that both Sean Dyche and Rob Edwards will probably have one eye on their fixtures on Tuesday, with getting points on the board their only real priority at this moment in time.
The chance to progress into the fifth round of the competition shouldn’t be overlooked, though, as a cup run can help boost morale and build up a positive feeling around the place.
There could be some caution taken in the team selections, but neither of these teams are going to lie down and make it an easy game for the other side, so a hard-fought battle could be on the cards on Merseyside.
In other Everton news, red tape has emerged on one player’s potential Goodison exit this month.
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