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Chelsea have just three days to get over their penalty shootout defeat to Liverpool in the League Cup final before this potential banana skin at Luton on Wednesday. Thomas Tuchel’s side have been struggling for some time and ironically put in their best performance in several games at Wembley.
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They had previously stumbled to victories over the likes of Crystal Palace, Lille, Plymouth and Al-Hilal in a series of unconvincing performances prior to that agonising cup final defeat. They now face one of the in-form sides in the Championship in Luton Town.
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Wednesday 7.15pm: Luton v Chelsea
TV: BBC One and BBC iPlayer
The Draw
Nathan Jones has overseen five wins in Luton’s last six league games to catapult them into the play-off places as the Championship reaches the business end and they can cause similar problems, just like League One Plymouth did three weeks ago at Stamford Bridge.
It would not be surprising to see Chelsea come into this with a hangover from Sunday’s penalty shootout defeat and they may require extra time to get over the line against a decent Luton side, just like they did with Plymouth. We start with The Draw after 90 minutes.
Both teams to score
Chelsea have conceded just two goals in their last six games, including 60 minutes of extra time against Liverpool and Plymouth, but they have looked defensively vulnerable, especially in the FA Cup. They conceded against non-league Chesterfield in the third-round at Stamford Bridge and fell behind against Plymouth last time out before conceding a penalty deep into extra time.
They conceded several gilt-edged chances against Liverpool on Sunday and while Luton’s strike partnership of Harry Cornick and Elijah Adebayo does not quite rival The Reds’ attack, they will be confident of causing problems for the Chelsea defence on Wednesday night.
At the other end, Luton have conceded an average of more than one goal per game in the Championship this season and boast the fourth-worst defensive record in the top half. It stands to reason that the European champions are capable of breaching their defence on Wednesday with Both Teams To Score.
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Romelu Lukaku to score anytime
Romelu Lukaku desperately needs a goal. The Belgian striker, who cost just shy of £100 million, was left on the bench for Chelsea’s two most recent games against Liverpool and Lille, arguably their most important games of the year so far.
He should find himself among the starting XI on Wednesday night and needs to get back among the goals. He has failed to score in his last three appearances since scoring in the Club World Cup final last month and recorded an astonishing seven touches in 90 minutes against Crystal Palace in his last start for Chelsea.
He has not scored in his seven domestic games since finding the back of the net against Chesterfield in the third-round of the FA Cup. A low-key game against second-tier Luton feels like exactly the type of game that Lukaku will manage to score anytime in, with Chelsea fans hoping that he can find real goalscoring form ahead of the season’s run-in.
Elijah Adebayo to score anytime
Like Romelu Lukaku, Elijah Adebayo is currently experiencing a goal drought that he could do with ending as the season approaches its business end. Adebayo is Luton’s top scorer and his goals have helped propel them into the play-off places, but he has failed to score in each of his last four games and has not scored from play since January 25, although he did miss three games due to a niggle.
The Luton striker has still performed well in this four-game run without a goal and has been a key competent of Luton’s rise into the play-offs. He will cause problems for Chelsea’s defence and, with an average of two shots per game, is the most likely Luton player to find the back of the net on Wednesday night. Elijah Adebayo to score anytime rounds us off.
Luton v Chelsea tips
The Draw
Both Teams to Score
Romelu Lukaku to to Score Anytime
Elijah Adebayo to Score Anytime
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