Match Preview | Chelsea vs Luton Town

25 August 2023

The Hatters head to West London on Friday night for the first of seven matches in the capital this season as we visit Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea, live on Sky Sports in the UK.

Mauricio Pochettino’s Blues failed to win either of their first two Premier League games, as Rob Edwards’ side have had a 13-day break since their three-goal defeat to leaders Brighton & Hove Albion.

This will be the third meeting between the Blues and the Hatters in the last four seasons, as Chelsea were victorious in both FA Cup ties in 2021 and 2022.

The opposition

Life under Pochettino has not begun as planned for Chelsea, with a positive draw against Liverpool followed by a disappointing loss at West Ham last weekend.

The Blues have spent nearly one billion pounds since Todd Boehly took the reins of the club last summer, including the recent signing of Moisés Caicedo which broke the British transfer fee record.

Chelsea have underperformed since the departure of Thomas Tuchel last season. However, there have been positive signs shown under Pochettino despite their winless start.

New signing Nicolas Jackson has been the standout of the new signings, leading the line in the first two games during the absence of another new Chelsea forward, Christopher Nkunku.

Words from Rob

"Really looking forward to it," said Edwards. "It's what we've all worked hard for. We as a football club have been out of the top-flight for a long time, everyone's been dying for this so let's go and enjoy it.

"But the best way to enjoy is by putting on a good performance and competing well; you can never guarantee a result, we're going there to try and win and we'll go there absolutely trying to do that.

"I've got huge respect for what Mauricio has done in his career so far and he's proved to be one of the best in the world. It's great, and i'll say this all the time."

Watch The Preview with Rob Edwards ahead of our trip to Stamford Bridge...

Last meeting

Luton Town gave a positive display when European champions Chelsea visited Kenilworth Road in the Emirates FA Cup in March 2022.

The Hatters took the lead inside two minutes with Reece Burke’s header and regained the one-goal advantage before half-time as Harry Cornick fired past Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Tuchel’s Chelsea showed their class in the second half as goals from Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku sent the Blues into the sixth round of the FA Cup.

Last time out

Town’s Premier League debut did not go as planned for Rob Edwards’ side as the Hatters fell to a 4-1 defeat at Brighton.

Last season’s top scorer Carlton Morris made history by being the first player in Luton Town history to score in the Premier League, getting off the mark from the penalty spot.

Team news

Former Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley has been training with the club since he signed for us over two weeks ago and is now available for selection after not featuring in the squad that lost at Brighton & Hove Albion.

New signing Tim Krul is also available for selection at Stamford Bridge, while defender Reece Burke has returned to training this week.

Gabe Osho is still ruled out ahead of this fixture, while Dan Potts and Jordan Clark are long-term absentees.

Fan information

The Ticket Office can confirm that tickets for this fixture are now sold out and no further tickets will be available.

Chelsea have provided an away supporter guide for Stamford Bridge.

Reminder to Luton Town fans about our zero-tolerance policy for discriminatory chanting.

Officials

The referee for our fixture against Chelsea will be 36-year-old Robert Jones.

Jones has taken charge of four games so far this season, two of which were in the Premier League and two in the Europa Conference League.

The last fixture Jones was in the middle for was at the Etihad Stadium as treble winners Manchester City took the points against Newcastle United last weekend.

Luton Town last had a game ran by Jones in May 2022 when the Hatters hosted Huddersfield Town in the first leg of the Championship play-offs.

Referee: Robert Jones

Assistant Referees: Stuart Burt & Wade Smith

Fourth Official: Peter Bankes

VAR: Paul Tierney

AVAR: Gary Beswick

Match Previews

Match Reports

Match Report | Chelsea 3-0 Town

25 August 2023

The Town suffered their second successive away defeat in the Premier League following the loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

The hosts opened the scoring early on through a spectacular solo effort from Raheem Sterling, who caused problems for the Hatters’ defence all evening.

A second goal for Mauricio Pochettino’s men came in the 68^th minute when Sterling once again finished well from a Malo Gusto cross before a third goal came in the form of a Nicolas Jackson tap-in seven minutes later.

Rob Edwards made two changes to the side that lost at Brighton & Hove Albion on the opening weekend of the season, with former Chelsea man Ross Barkley making his debut, coming in for Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu and Reece Burke coming back from injury to replace Mads Andersen.

Looking to bounce back from their 3-1 defeat to West Ham last Sunday, Chelsea started the game in a fierce pursuit of a goal and almost found it just five minutes in when England international Sterling was played in down the right-flank, but a strong block from Hatters’ captain Tom Lockyer, denied the hosts an opener.

Minutes later, Sterling looked to have opened the scoring when his volley from the edge of the box fizzed through a host of Luton bodies, only to be denied by a stunning reflex from Thomas Kaminski.

Town’s first chance came in the eighth minute of the game when British record signing Moises Caicedo was dispossessed in midfield, sparking a quick reaction from Tahith Chong, who drove into the box, beating two players but firing his effort high and wide.

The momentum then fell back into Chelsea’s hands, with fine margins denying the Blues an opener, when some tricky play from the hosts saw the ball fall into the path of Enzo Fernandez inside the area, but the Argentinian fired his effort narrowly over the crossbar.

The Chelsea pressure continued to mount and the breakthrough came in the 17^th minute when the lively Sterling dribbled past two Town players and calmly slotted his effort into the bottom-left corner to give the hosts the lead.

With set-pieces looking like the best chance of a Luton equaliser, Edward’s men came close to levelling the score in the 42^nd minute when a Ryan Giles corner met the head of Barkley, but the 29-year-old’s near-post header rose just over the bar.

The second-half began as the previous half finished, with Chelsea keeping the ball well and looking to breakdown the Luton defence. Pochettino’s men should have doubled their advantage in the 50^th minute when Ben Chilwell was released by a Jackson back-heel, but the marauding full-back opted to try square the ball instead of firing past Kaminski.

Looking to withstand the Chelsea pressure, the Hatters stayed compact, patiently waiting for their opportunity to break-away and their first chance of the half came in the 61^st minute when a fierce strike from Giles deflected off Gusto, forcing an unsteady reflex save out of Robert Sanchez.

But the Chelsea pressure continued to wear on the Luton defence and what felt like an inevitable second goal for the blues came in the 68^th minute when a whipped cross from Gusto fell into the path of Sterling once again, who finished well into the bottom corner to double the hosts' advantage.

Pochettino’s men smelt blood and found the net a third time, seven minutes later, when some technical play from Fernandez released Sterling down the right-flank, who squared into the path of Jackson for a tap-in at the back-post.

A chance of a consolation and something for the loud travelling fans to celebrate came late on for the Town in the 85^th minute when Carlton Morris flicked the ball into the path of Jacob Brown, but the forward’s powerful effort rose over the crossbar.

Luton Town: Kaminski, Kaboré (Doughty 70’), Burke (Andersen 77’), Lockyer, Bell, Giles, Nakamba, Barkley (Ruddock-Mpanzu 77’), Chong (Ogbene 77’), Morris, Adebayo (Brown 70’).

Subs not used: Krul, Berry, Woodrow, Johnson.

Attendance: 39,893 (3,054 Hatters)