Best odds: 21/20
Bookmaker:
Round three of the Premier League season is about to begin and of Friday, Chelsea will break it open along with newly promoted Luton Town who travel to Stamford Bridge.
Here s a fact about this fixture some may find interesting the last time Chelsea and Luton played in the Premier League, the only current Chelsea player who was born was Thiago Silva. The Brazilian veteran turns 39 next month.
Chelsea
Much has been said about Chelsea s transfer activities this summer, as well as in the two previous transfer windows; in fact, ever since Todd Boehly and his consortium took ownership from Roman Abramovich in the spring of 2022.
Most recently, the Blues spent a total of £170 million on midfielders Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, trumping Liverpool in the process. However, while Lavia is yet to make his club debut, Caicedo put in a horror show in the 3-1 loss away to West Ham last week. Spending just 37 minutes on the pitch, the most expensive player ever signed by a British club lost possession eight times and eventually conceded a stoppage-time penalty which helped the Hammers close their hand on the three points firmly.
The result, along with a 1-1 draw at home against Liverpool in the campaign opener, has left Chelsea in 15th place with only a point to their name at the moment, though that, of course, doesn t count for much at this stage of the season.
Team News
Caicedo s nightmare debut will likely mean a place on the bench again, apart from which, manager Mauricio Pochettino has numerous injury problems to work around.
Defender Wesley Fofana is unlikely to play at all this season, having undergone surgery on a torn ACL in July. The most recent problem, and probably the most significant one, is the absence of captain Reece James who is out with a hamstring injury and won t be back until mid-September. Newly signed forward Christopher Nkunku might miss the rest of the calendar year due to a knee injury. Other absences include defenders Trevoh Chalobah and Benoit Badiashile (both hamstring), midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka and striker Armando Broja (both knee).
With Robert Sanchez in goal, Thiago Silva will command the back line, with Axel Disasi and Levi Colwill by his side. Ben Chilwell on the left and Malo Gusto should be covering the flanks, while Conor Gallagher joins Enzo Fernandez in the middle of the park. Striker Nicolas Jackson could have Mykhaylo Mudryk and Raheem Sterling in support.
Luton Town
With all due respect to Luton and the quality of their players, it s a huge success for them to have even earned Premier League promotion for the first time since the English top flight started bearing that name in 1992/93, and everything they do from here will arguably only be considered as an added bonus.
Nonetheless, they ve made 10 signings so far in order to try and survive in this competitive environment, including former Everton and Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley and ex-Newcastle and Norwich goalkeeper, Tim Krul.
On the opening day of the season, Rob Edwards team traveled to face Brighton and got beaten 4-1 at the Amex. Their clash against Burnley, which was supposed to take place last week at their ground at Kenilworth Road, has been postponed, which means they have a game in hand on most of the league.
But with no points to their name and a negative goal-difference, the Hatters travel to Stamford Bridge sitting 17th in the Premier League table.
Team News
Edwards has four players in his ranks who are unlikely to make the Chelsea trip through injury: defenders Reece Burke (knock), Gabriel Osho (knee) and Dan Potts (ankle), as well as midfielder Jordan Clark (ankle). Barkley will probably sit it out as well; Edwards recently revealed the 29-year-old was still working to achieve the necessary level of fitness.
Despite the heavy loss at the Amex, the Luton boss in not expected to make any changes to the starting lineup.
That would mean Thomas Kaminski standing between the posts, with the trio of Mads Andersen, Tom Lockyer and Amari i Bell directly ahead as the last line of defence. Ryan Giles and Issa Kabore are expected to cover the flanks as wing-backs, while Marvelous Nakamba and Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu provide cover for attacking midfielder Tahith Chong. Upfront, strikers Carl Morris and Elijah Adebayo will lead the line.
Conclusion
Chelsea are obviously big favourites to take the whole prize, but the prospect of embarrassment of not winning for such an expensive squad will likely be nagging at the back of the heads of the home players, creating pressure for their shoulders to bear. Still, they should be able to overcome it and grace their supporters with the first victory of the season.
The biggest problem for Pochettino s men in the first two games was a lack of composure in front of the opposition goal, but it s probably time for them to resolve their issues. It s also probably time for Nicolas Jackson to open his Premier League account.
Verdict: Nicolas Jackson to score
Best odds: 21/20
Bookmaker:
