Chelsea vs Luton Town is the first time that the 2023/24 Premier League newcomers will be playing a traditional big six team in the ongoing season.
The English top flight has seen a number of debuts and long-awaited returns in the last six seasons. Luton Town is the latest and their match with Chelsea on Saturday 25 August 2023 is their first clash with a Premier League favorite.
Chelsea may not be in the best shape but at the start of every season, the Blues are considered to be one of the teams who can win the league.
The performances of teams like Luton Town against teams like Chelsea is always a benchmark to measure the progress of the evolution of the lower-tier leagues.
Come 25 August, Luton will be attempting to make a good name for themselves at Stamford Bridge, where the game will be hosted. They will be going in after two weeks of rest thanks to not being able to participate in matchday 2 because of the remodeling that is ongoing at their home stadium, Kenilworth Road.
At the time of writing, the Hatters could also have issues playing their EFL Cup second-round game with Gillingham on Tuesday 29 August 2023. Meanwhile, the club’s fans will be thinking of making the trip to London to see how their Hatters can fare against Chelsea.
The Blues, on the other hand, are down in the dumps despite sporting a new look.
Their jersey is a retro shade of blue, giving them a different identity from how they have looked in recent years. The squad has been pruned as well as watered with lots of players departing and joining.
Despite the additions of these players and a new manager in Mauricio Pochettino, the club’s demons from the past two seasons are still haunting them.
They are yet to pick up three points in the ongoing league. After their draw to Liverpool, they travelled to the London Stadium to face West Ham United.
Despite going down to ten men, the Hammers finished the game and bagged all three points while at it. 3-1 was the scoreline as Chelsea ran back to Cobham with their tails between their legs.
Pochettino will be desperate for his first three points and Luton Town will present an opportunity for him to finally put a smile on the faces of Chelsea fans, a number of which have started to question if he is the right man for the job.
Match Tickets
Chelsea vs Luton Town will take place at Stamford Bridge on Friday 25 August 2023 at 8 PM.
It is the opening fixture or matchday 3 of the 2023/24 Premier League season. It will be broadcast on Sky Sports for fans in and around the United Kingdom.
Other Premier League broadcast partners like Supersport (Africa) and NBC (USA) will air the match across all 212 territories where the league is enjoyed.
The tickets to the game are already up on the websites of Chelsea and Luton Town respectively. Because of the particular nature of the match, we expect Chelsea vs Luton Town tickets to get sold out in record time.
Luton Town have already started the season with one game in hand and Chelsea are showing signs of their struggles from last season.
When the tickets do sell out on the websites of both teams, ticket resellers will be the next frontier where the battle to secure tickets will be fought.
Outside the issues outlined above, fans will want to witness Luton Town’s first outing against a traditional Premier League side. Chelsea is also one of the big six and facing Luton Town is a big draw for the Kenilworth Road fans.
Chelsea tickets will sell more this season as well, thanks to the incredibly expensive overhaul that Todd Boehly and his administration have carried out on the club.
There is a new identity and fans will be following every matchday to see – and scrutinize – the results of the overhaul.
Team news
With the transfer window still open until 1 September and Chelsea’s penchant for shiny purchases, it will not be out of place to expect a new addition to their squad.
Romeo Lavia is yet to make an appearance in the team after signing for the club from Southampton, a day after Caicedo joined. The Belgian was not in Chelsea’s matchday squad to face West Ham either, which points to him getting his debut for the Blues against Luton Town.
Youngster Carney Chukwuemeka had to be taken off at halftime against West Ham following a collision that resulted in him getting treatment for a time during the first half. He is now added to a growing list of injuries at Chelsea.
Luton Town, meanwhile, are yet to give debuts to Ross Barkley, Jacob Brown and Tim Krul. All three were signed after the EFL Championship playoff winners’ first game in the 2023/24 Premier League season. One or all of them could get a run against Chelsea, most notably Barkley, who was once in the books at Stamford Bridge.
Luton Town are also in the news for their pursuit of Tottenham Hotspur defender Japhet Tanganga. The 24-year-old defender is highly-rated at Spurs but it appears he is not trusted enough to carry the club’s weight.
The Hatters have reportedly approached him for a season-long loan and are waiting for him to give his consent to them initiating talks with Spurs. Former Manchester United man Axel Tuanzebe is also in line for a move to Kenilworth Road after he was released from the Old Trafford outfit.
This week could see movement in that regard, meaning that Hatters manager Rob Edwards could have his tenth and eleventh signings of the new season ready for Chelsea.
They are currently the club with the most recruitments this summer, much like Nottingham Forest when they sealed promotion back to the top flight last season.
Edwards has no injury worries at the moment, which also means he has a fully fit squad to select from.
Lineups
Mauricio Pochettino stuck to his 3-4-3 formation against the Hammers. In the absence of captain Reece James, French right-back Malo Gusto started for the Blues.
Outside Gusto’s addition to replace James, the rest of the starting XI were unchanged from the team that faced Liverpool on opening day.
Against Luton, Pochettino may give a first 2023/24 Premier League start to players like Noni Madueke, Mykhailo Mudryk and Marc Cucurella. Caicedo could also start his first game alongside Enzo Fernandes, who is one of the few untouchables in the current Chelsea squad.
Lavia, who watched from home as his new club faced West Ham, could also be in line for a debut. However, he is more likely to come off the bench than to start in that game.
More importantly, Pochettino will hope that there will be no more injuries to deal with as his worry list is growing.
Chelsea: Sanchez; Disasi, Thiago Silva, Colwill; Chilwell, Enzo, Caicedo, Gusto; Sterling, Jackson, Mudryk.
Luton Town are ready to face Chelsea after two weeks off work thanks to construction and renovation works being carried out at Kenilworth Road.
Edwards will most likely give debuts to new signings in that game, especially the experienced duo of Barkely and Krul. The core of the team will remain unchanged, however, as he will focus on stability in order to fully form an XI that can do battle with the giants of English top-flight football.
Star defender Gabriel Osho could also return to the squad in time for his Premier League debut, having sat out opening day thanks to picking up an injury before the game. The versatile defender will provide Edwards with enough options on defence and even in defensive midfield as they take on the Blues.
Luton Town: Krul; Bell, Lockyer, Andersen; Giles, Chong, Nakamba, Ruddock, Kabore; Adebayo, Morris
Prediction
Chelsea were expected to get their first win of the season away at West Ham United but they disappointed all predictions. The predictions remain the same for Luton Town: they are expected to get their first three points of the 2023/24 Premier League season against the minnows.
With a better squad on paper and a better and more experienced manager, it is hard to see another outcome. Luton will create a number of chances against the porous Chelsea midfield and will come close on a number of occasions.
The Blues, however, will ride the wave of the Stamford Bridge faithful to disperse their opponents at full-time without anything to show for their visit.
Chelsea 2 – 0 Luton Town.
