Chelsea will be aiming to move one step closer to a ninth FA Cup in the club’s history when they travel to Kenilworth Road to face Championship promotion-chasers Luton Town in the fifth round on Wednesday evening.
It’s a rematch of the fourth-round clash from last year’s competition, where Chelsea ran out 3-1 winners, but the Hatters are a team bristling with confidence right now.
In addition to dispatching Harrogate Town 4-0 and Cambridge United 3-0 to reach this stage of the cup, Nathan Jones’ side have also lost just one of their last eight Championship matches to surge into the top six and put their play-off destiny in their own hands.
Thomas Tuchel’s men may still be reeling from Sunday’s heartbreaking Carabao Cup final penalty shootout defeat to Liverpool and, if Luton are looking for omens indicating a possible upset, then they may be buoyed by the fact that they’ve won four of their last five home matches against the Blues - albeit those fixtures all took place between 1987 and 1991.
Here’s everything you need to know about the FA Cup game at Kenilworth Road.
When is it?
The match will kick-off at 19:15 GMT on Wednesday, 2 March at Kenilworth Road, Luton.
How can I watch?
The match will be shown live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website, with coverage starting at 19:00 GMT.
What’s the team news?
After 120 minutes, plus a penalty shootout, against Liverpool on Sunday, Thomas Tuchel will likely ring the changes in his Chelsea selection to give fresh legs a chance to shine.
Hakim Ziyech and Andreas Christensen both missed the final with Achilles issues, while Cesar Azpilicueta was substituted off after picking up a knock, so Tuchel may not risk any of the trio as they continue to fight on multiple fronts. Ben Chilwell continues to be a long-term absentee with his ACL injury.
Luton have endured something of a midfield crisis in recent weeks but Luke Berry and Jordan Clark are back in training, while Robert Snodgrass has been signed as a free agent but Pelly Ruddock-Mpanzu is currently being rested due to fatigue and both Henri Lansbury and Elijah Adebayo went off during Luton’s 1-0 win over Derby at the weekend with knocks, so face a race to be fit.
Predicted line-ups
Luton XI: Steer; Burke, Lockyer, Naismith; Bree, Bell, Berry, Campbell, Clark; Cornick, Hylton
Chelsea XI: Kepa; Chalobah, Sarr, Rudiger; James, Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek, Hudson-Odoi; Pulisic, Werner; Lukaku
Odds
Luton: 15/2
Draw: 18/5
Chelsea: 1/3
Prediction
Having been burned in the Carabao Cup final, Chelsea will be desperate to keep their chances of winning a domestic cup alive. Luton won’t go down without a fight but the Blues should have too much for them. Luton 1-3 Chelsea
