Chelsea travel to Kenilworth Road on Saturday to take on Luton Town as they look to build upon their 2-1 win over Crystal Palace earlier in the week. The last time the two teams met, Chelsea battered the Premier League new boys 3-0 but the Hatters head into this weekend’s clash in fine form with back-to-back victories over Newcastle and Sheffield United in the books. Here, Express Sport takes a look at the team Mauricio Pochettino is likely to field against a much improved Luton side.
Goalkeeper: Petrovic
Robert Sanchez is still out injured so Pochettino will be forced to call upon Dorde Petrovic once again. The Serbian shot-stopper is making the most of his unexpected opportunity at Chelsea and hasn’t put a foot wrong between the sticks for the west Londoners.
Defenders: Gusto, Disasi, Badiashile, Colwill
It should be an unchanged defensive line from the back four that lined up against Crystal Palace in midweek unless Pochettino chooses to play Thiago Silva at centre-back. Benoit Badiashile has been in fine form since returning to the fold and is expected to pair Axel Disasi at the heart of the defence.
Levi Colwill will once again be called upon to fill in at left-back following injuries to Ben Chilwell and Marc Cucurella while Malo Gusto starts at right-back in the absence of Chelsea skipper Reece James.
Midfielders: Caicedo, Gallagher, Nkunku
The midfield trio of Moises Caicedo, Conor Gallagher and the returning Christopher Nkuku caused Crystal Palace all kinds of problems and should start alongside each other again. A tidy overlapping pass from Nkunku fed Gusto in behind the Eagles’ backline to assist Mykhalo Mudryk’s opener while Conor Gallagher and Moises Caicedo played some really nice crossfield passes and broke things up in midfield.
Enzo Fernandez and Lesley Ugochukwu are both out injured so this midfield selection seems like a no-brainer.
Attackers: Palmer, Jackson, Sterling
Up front, Nicolas Jackson will probably start down the middle although his performance last time out left a lot to be desired. He missed a couple of sitters against Palace and will need to find his scoring boots if he hopes to keep his place in the side ahead of what is expected to be a busy January transfer window for Chelsea, with a new striker on their wishlist.
Winger duo Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling are expected to return to the starting XI after missing the Palace game through suspension which will serve as a big boost for Pochettino. When Chelsea last played Luton, Sterling put on one of his best performances in a Chelsea shirt while Palmer has arguably been the Blues’ best player this season.
Express Sport predicted Chelsea XI: Petrovic; Gusto, Disasi, Badiashile, Colwill; Caicedo, Gallagher, Nkunku; Palmer, Jackson, Sterling
Injuries: Fernandez, Chukwuemeka, Chalobah, Chilwell, Cucurella, Sanchez, James, Fofana, Ugochukwu
