Chelsea welcome Luton Town to Stamford Bridge as a hectic August Bank Holiday weekend kicks off in the Premier League.
Victory would see Chelsea climb to eighth in the table, whilst Luton can move above their hosts and away from the relegation zone with a win.
Team News
Carney Chukwuemeka is ruled out for Chelsea after he needed surgery on a knee injury, which saw him substituted at half time in their 3-1 loss at West Ham.
Mykhailo Mudryk (knock) and Romeo Lavia (fitness) are also sidelined, with Lavia not expected to make his debut until after September’s international break.
Marcus Bettinelli (unspecified), Christopher Nkunku, Armando Broja (both knee), Benoit Badiashile (groin), Trevoh Chalobah (Achilles), Reece James (hamstring) and Wesley Fofa (ACL) remain ruled out.
Luton could welcome Ross Barkley (fitness), Jordan Clark and Dan Potts (both knock) back into contention if either player passes a late fitness test.
Gabriel Osho (knee) and Reece Burker (groin) both remain ruled out.
When is Kick-Off?
Chelsea welcome Luton to Stamford Bridge in a 8pm BST kick-off on Friday 25 August, live on Sky Sports in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Chelsea are playing Luton in the Premier League for the first time, but are unbeaten in four of their last six top-flight meetings in the old First Division (W3, D1, L2).
- Luton have won just one of their last five top-flight visits to Chelsea (W1, D1, L3).
- Both teams have scored in four of their last five meetings at Stamford Bridge in all competitions, except for a 1-0 home win for Chelsea in April 1990
- Nicolas Jackson has been booked in each of Chelsea’s two matches this season.
- Carlton Morris produced more shots than any other Luton player during their opening defeat at Brighton, with the forward having attempted four shots.
Prediction
With just one point from their opening two games under Mauricio Pochettino and a growing injury list, it is easy for Chelsea fans to panic but their attack looked more confident at West Ham despite some awful defending to concede three goals.
Pochettino will surely now look for a better defensive performance whilst their attack grow more in energy and belief, such is the talent within this squad which is capable of strong results once they finally click as a team.
Luton meanwhile have had a fortnight off to reflect upon a positive defeat at Brighton because they did play well as a whole, yet a mixture of poor end product and contrast in defensive quality saw them suffer a heavy loss but the foundations have been laid to build upon here.
Now if Rob Edwards’ Hatters can turn up and press Chelsea quickly with their counter-attacking style, I would be concerned for the Blues’ defence if they are caught high up the pitch as Luton break forward but they surely would of learned from their poor result at West Ham.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Luton
Result: Chelsea 3-0 Luton