The Town last reached the last 16 of the competition two years ago before losing to Chelsea at Kenilworth Road. The previous time the Hatters reached the same stage came 11 years ago this week when Paul Buckle’s side created history by beating Norwich in the fourth round in 2013 by becoming the first non-league side to knockout a Premier League team.
Standing in their way are five-time FA Cup winners Everton. The Toffees, runners-up in 2009, beat the Hatters in their last two FA Cup meetings – in a quarter-final replay in 1986 and a semi-final at Villa Park in 1985.
The Hatters, however, will head to Goodison Park confident of repeating the 2-1 victory from earlier in the season, as goals from Tom Lockyer and Carlton Morris earning Rob Edwards’ side their first ever win in the Premier League and first in the top-flight since 1992.
The opposition
Everton’s season to date has been dominated by their ten-point deduction in the Premier League for failing to comply with the league’s profit and sustainability rules. Despite that, the Toffees rallied and a run of five wins from six games lifted them away from relegation danger despite the penalty. However, a run which has seen Sean Dyche’s side take one point from their last four league games has seen slide back into trouble. Everton now lie one place and one point above the Hatters in the table. Like the Hatters, they reached the fourth round stage following a replay, beating Crystal Palace 1-0 at Goodison Park last week.
Words from Rob
“The league is of course the most important but this game is the next game and we will prepare right because we want to win and go as far as we can,” the manager said.
“I’m aware we’ve got an important game a few days later but we’ve got things in place – our focus is to win the game knowing we’ve got two extremely difficult games coming up in the Premier League.
“The FA Cup is an amazing competition so we’re taking it very, very seriously. For us, we want to continue building our performances and the feelgood factor because we’ve been in good form. We’re really looking forward to it; Everton’s a brilliant football club, it’s a great stadium so the motivation is there for us.”
Last time we met
The Town ended a grim record at Goodison with that historic victory back in late September. Previously the Hatters’ record at Goodison Park had not made for pleasing reading.
Town teams had struggled here in the past, winning just six of 25 matches before this season’s triumph, with 16 of those games ending in defeat. Our previous visit before this term was back in October 2006 – a 4-0 League Cup defeat. You needed to scroll back to September 1988 for our last victory before this term, when goals from Kingsley Black and David Oldfield secured a 2-0 win in the top-flight. The Town have played three FA Cup ties at Goodison, losing all three – including a 6-0 thumping in the sixth round back in 1933.
Team news
Rob Edwards will be without the services of Jordan Clark, with the midfielder suspended after picking up two bookings in the games against Bolton in the previous rounds.
Mads Andersen remains unavailable, while Issa Kaboré remains on international duty with Burkina Faso after his country reached the last-16 of the African Nations Cup.
Marvellous Nakamba remains unavailable for a period of months after an operation on a meniscus, but Sambi Lokonga is fit to play after being rested for the FA Cup replay at Bolton.
Officials
The referee for our fixture against Everton will be Simon Hooper.
The official last oversaw the Town for the 2-0 win over Sunderland in the second leg of the play-offs last season.
The Wiltshire whistler has shown an average of 4.6 yellow cards from the 19 games he’s overseen this season, showing three red cards – two of which came in the Tottenham versus Liverpool fixture in September.
VAR will be in use for this tie at Goodison.
Referee - Simon HooperAssistant Referee 1 - Edward SmartAssistant Referee 2 - Nick GreenhalghFourth Official - Matthew DonohueVideo Assistant Referee - David CooteVideo Assistant Referee - Andrew MadleyAdditional Video Assistant Referee - Sian Massey-Ellis
Where to watch
The game is not live for supporters to watch on television in the UK, but the tie will be screened in certain locations to international supporters. Click here to see the full list (scrolling down to the Everton v Luton Town match).
UK and overseas Hatters Player subscribers will be able to listen audio commentary. Our social media channels will also follow the action live, including behind-the-scenes build-up and post-match reaction.
LOVE FOOTBALL. PROTECT THE GAME.
Luton Town Football Club has committed in its customer charter to providing safe match-day experiences for all supporters regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability or sexual orientation, and this applies equally to home and away fixtures.
In the event that any Luton supporters do make discriminatory chants, the Club will work with the police and football authorities to help identify such individuals. Any such fans would then face the strictest club sanctions, including football banning orders that would prevent them attending any matches, in addition to any criminal charges.
The Club can also be held responsible for the behaviour of its supporters, which could lead to substantial fines being imposed.
As a diverse and inclusive football club, we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our fellow Premier League clubs in supporting the FA’s ‘Love Football. Protect the Game’ campaign and call on all fans to enjoy the game in a positive spirit.
Please email myvoice@lutontown.co.uk if you have any concerns and to report incidents at a Luton Town fixture. You can also report incidents via Kick it Out's free, confidential reporting app on the App Store and Google Play.
