Ahead of Friday night's fixture under the lights at Kenilworth Road, Luton Town boss Rob Edwards addressed the media.
He gave an assertive rundown of Sean Dyche's now-safe Everton, while also revealing that Elijah Adebayo is fit for action following his rousing cameo off the bench in the 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton last weekend.
Adebayo has played a big part in Luton's impact on the Premier League so far this term, scoring nine goals in 23 before Saturday's appearance marked a return from a 12-game absence.
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Team News
As Chiedozie Ogbene still isn't ready to return, Edwards spoke of the team's status as "just where we were at for the last game", before adding "Eli Adebayo obviously featured against Wolves, so that was a positive."
After explaining how the returning marksman had "trained well" in the week's build-up with no issues, Edwards continued: “If he starts, he’s probably not fit enough to get through the whole game.
"There’s an element of risk on every player now. He’s in a position where he feels good to go and obviously then we’ve got to try and make the right call.”
Reflecting on the defeat in the West Midlands, Edwards held Adebayo's cameo in high regard. The 6'4" front man only saw 12 minutes of action at Molineux, yet had a hand in Carlton Morris' late strike.
“He had an immediate impact, thought he looked really positive. He obviously won the corner for the goal. It’s just his physical attributes anyway cause one or two problems and make people think a little bit more.
"We’ve missed Eli’s energy, his pressing, and in defending and attacking set-pieces. He doesn’t get enough credit for the brain he’s got as well. He’s very tactically aware. We’re having meetings and he always knows the answer.”
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Everton's newfound safety a potential weakness?
Following an excellent recent run of form, the team from the blue half of Merseyside can look over their shoulders at Luton with a real sigh of relief. That said, despite three home wins (all with clean sheets to match), Everton are winless in nine away Premier League games (D3 L6) since beating Burnley 2-0 in December.
Between this, a high-stakes Kenilworth Road atmosphere, and a group of ever-determined Luton players - does Edwards think the foot might come of the gas?
"We don’t know, we haven’t got a crystal ball. They’ve done incredibly well, obviously, to deal with very difficult circumstances and get themselves out of it (the relegation zone). It’s huge for us, so in times like this - it’s who deals with the pressure best.
"There’s probably less on them now, that could give them an edge, with more freedom and a little less pressure to deal with but hopefully we respond in the right way.”
Addressing the fixture further, Edwards continued: “It’s a big challenge, we’ll expect their best. They have done really well, three clean sheets in a row, three wins in big games.
"In the pressured moments, they’ve dealt with it very well. I don’t know how they’ve felt this year, they’ve been in the middle, right in it with the stuff that’s been going on. In real difficult circumstances, they’ve picked up a good number of points and they deserve credit for that, no doubt about it.
"We’re expecting a very difficult game, they play with real intensity and aggression. They’ve got good players as well, and I suppose that maybe throughout the early parts of the season, they weren’t getting some of the rewards that maybe they were due. More recently they have been, I hope they don’t tomorrow.”
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Edwards highlights Evertonian focal points
Understanding the challenge at hand, Luton's boss looked over who he thought could cause his team trouble on Friday evening.
After the last three games saw victory against Nottingham Forest, Liverpool, and Brentford - Everton have seemingly seen vital goals filter in across the park. Edwards acknowledged this.
"We know what kind of questions they’re going to ask of us. Physically, we’re going to have to be really, really strong and match that side of it. They make it that kind of game, but they’re not just physical. They’ve got some really talented footballers as well, Dwight McNeil has been performing really well. (Jack) Harrison as well, (Abdoulaye) Doucoure.
"As well as that power and pace, they’ve got some real technical players who can rotate, drift into different spaces, and cause problems - they’ve got a nice blend and it’s working for them at the moment. We’ve got to stand up to that.”
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A message to the fans ahead of the final three games
As the Premier League run-in thins to the last three matches, two of these take place at Kenilworth Road - as Fulham pay a visit on final day after a Hatters away trip to West Ham. Edwards gave a resounding message to the Bedfordshire faithful.
"Just believe. A big thank you, as well because they're special, our supporters. They've stuck with us. We've given them some great times, you know, before I was in this seat. I think they really appreciate the position that we're in, but we all want to still be here nest year as well, so... thank you. Keep believing and keep backing us. They've done that all season long.
"I love them, I really do and I'm really lucky to have a great rapport with our supporters. It's special. It doesn't always happen, especially when we've lost the number of games that we have done, but I think everyone's got some realism and understands the position that we're in. So yeah, thank you. Keep believing, and keep backing us."
