Chelsea predicted XI vs Luton Town: will Mauricio Pochettino hand Moises Caicedo his first start?
Chelsea are searching for their first win of the season as they look to bounce back from defeat against West Ham last weekend.
Chelsea made something of a statement in their Premier League curtain-raiser by holding a hopeful Liverpool to a 1-1 draw on the opening weekend. The Reds had entered the clash looking to hit the ground running, but Mauricio Pochettino and his men ensured they didn’t return to Anfield with all three points.
Despite Luis Díaz giving the visitors the lead early on, an equaliser from new signing Axel Disasi ensured his side got off the mark for the season at Stamford Bridge. However, the plucky performance didn’t trickle into the following game-week and Chelsea found themselves on the wrong end of a 3-1 scoreline against London rivals West Ham.
Promising midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka, still a relatively new face in this Blues side, found the back of the net, but it wasn’t enough to see off the resilient Hammers, who fought back with three strikes of their own. And one recent recruit who had a less than ideal performance was Moisés Caicedo.
The 21-year-old has a lot of pressure on his shoulders and a lot of hype surrounding his first season with Chelsea after his eye-watering £115 million arrival shattered the British transfer record this month. Caicedo has made the move from Brighton and Hove Albion, and with a lot of people around the world watching his first appearances like a hawk, he didn’t deliver on his debut.
In fact, it couldn’t have gone much worse for the midfielder as he gave away a penalty during a 30-minute spell off the bench. But it seems Chelsea aren’t overly concerned about his calamitous debut - after all, it can probably be pinned on first-time nerves and there’s no use ruling out a nine-figure transfer based on half an hour of play. So the burning question is, will Caicedo be given the nod to start in Chelsea’s upcoming match against Luton Town?
Will Caicedo start for Chelsea vs Luton Town?
Since bringing in both Caicedo and Roméo Lavia, Pochettino has a lot thinking to do. Chelsea currently have five senior defensive midfielders on their roster, and three of them arrived this month, so competition is high. Enzo Fernández, for his part, has established himself as a concrete starter since joining the club in January.
The one man who could make way for a new rotation is Conor Gallagher, and given Caicedo’s hefty transfer fee, it is likely he will get the nod against the Hatters.
The clash against Luton could be the perfect chance to start the Ecuadorian and reinstate his confidence after a nightmare debut. Caicedo will need minutes to prove himself, and the Championship play-off winners should, respectfully, present Chelsea with a pretty straight forward win - on paper at least.
As well as potentially starting Caicedo, Pochettino will also need to make some other changes as Chukwuemeka was forced off against West Ham and has undergone surgery on his knee. Christopher Nkunku (knee) is set for some time on the sidelines and new captain Reece James (hamstring) is likely to miss the Luton match as well.
Chelsea predicted line-up
Sánchez; Disasi, Silva, Colwill, Gusto, Chilwell, Enzo, Caicedo, Madueke, Sterling, Jackson.
Luton searching for a big result
The Hatters’ first match in the Premier League resulted in a humbling 4-1 defeat against Brighton. They were then meant to host their first game at home last weekend, but due to the required work being done on Kenilworth Road to bring the ground up to Premier League standards, their clash against Burnley has been postponed for the time being.
That means Luton’s next challenge is a visit to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea and while the odds are stacked against them, they will still want to go in all guns blazing and fight for some sort of positive result.
No new injury issues have presented themselves since Luton faced the Seagulls, so it is expected that Rob Edwards will go with the same line-up from last time out, especially after having extra time to train and recover due to the aforementioned postponed fixture.
Luton predicted line-up
Kaminski; Andersen, Lockyer, Bell, Kaboré, Mpanzu, Nakamba, Chong, Giles, Morris, Adebayo.