CHELSEA fans went through a traumatic weekend and will be hoping more misery isn't around the corner in this tricky FA Cup tie with in-form Luton Town.
The Blues were plunged into a state of uncertainty on Saturday night when Russian owner Roman Abramovich claimed he would be handing over “stewardship and care” of the club.
Just a day later they missed out on lifting the League Cup in the cruellest of manners, losing an epic final on penalties to Liverpool in a game where my bet of the half-time stalemate came up.
Thomas Tuchel's decision to bring on sub keeper Kepa for the shoot-out backfired as the Basque failed to save 11 penalties then fired his own spot-kick over the bar to hand Liverpool the cup.
It will be interesting to see if Tuchel will play Kepa or Edouard Mendy for this cup tie and it's a potential banana skin as Luton Town have been in fine form in the Championship.
Nathan Jones' men have lost just two of their last 15 games in all competitions and that superb run has fired them into the play-off positions.
Luton have won their last three matches, conceding just once, so Chelsea can't afford to take their eye off the ball at Kenilworth Road.
How the bookies view it
The bookies can't see a shock here with Chelsea just 3/16 at VBet to qualify and 7/17 with the same firm for a win inside 90 minutes.
Luton's best price to reach the next round is 5/1 at SportNation and they are 15/2 with Bet365 to do so without the need for extra-time or penalties. The stalemate at 90 minutes pays 4/1 at the same firm.
Head to head
These sides met in the FA Cup just last season and Chelsea won 3-1 at Stamford Bridge thanks to a hat-trick from Tammy Abraham (below). That was Frank Lampard's last hurrah as boss before Tuchel replaced him.
That was their first meeting since the 1994 FA Cup semi-final which the Blues won 2-0 before losing the showpiece to Manchester United. The last clash at Kenilworth Road came in 1991 and it was Luton who came out on top with a 2-0 triumph.
Players to watch
I'd expect Tuchel to freshen things up after a gruelling 120 minutes at Wembley. Callum Hudson-Odoi didn't get off the bench on Sunday so should feature here and the winger is 45/17 at SBK for anytime scorer.
Veteran Luton striker Danny Hylton heads into this tie on a high after scoring in the last two games against Stoke and Derby. He's 47/10 with SBK to make it three in a row against Chelsea.
Anything else catch the eye?
A lot depends on how Chelsea react to their weekend disappointment but the Blues have been looking back to their best in recent weeks. They've kept clean sheets in their last three so a Chelsea win to nil here looks a good option at 13/10 with Paddy Power. The clean sheet on its own is also a good price at 11/10 with the same firm.
Luton picked up six yellows in their win over Stoke last week so it could pay to back them for a few cards here. I've yet to see a market on total cards but Bet365 have prices for individual players. Former Motherwell star Allan Campbell will be in the heart of the midfield battle and appeals at 7/2 for a card.
This FA Cup match between Luton Town and Chelsea will be played on Mar 2, 2022 and kick off at 19:15. Check below for our tipsters best Luton Town vs Chelsea prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
