FA Cup

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FA Cup | Fourth Round

Jan 24, 2021 at 12pm UK

Stamford Bridge

Chelsea
3 - 1
Luton

Abraham (11', 17', 74')

FT(HT: 2-1)

Clark (30')
Clark (85')

Preview: Chelsea vs. Luton Town - prediction, team news, lineups

By Matt Law, Football Editor | 22 January 2021

Sports Mole previews Sunday's FA Cup clash between Chelsea and Luton Town, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Chelsea will be attempting to progress to the fifth round of the FA Cup when they take on Championship side Luton Town at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.

The Blues recorded a 4-0 win over Morecambe in the third round to progress to this stage, while Luton beat Reading 1-0 courtesy of a first-half effort from George Moncur.

Match preview

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard pictured on January 9, 2021 © Reuters

Chelsea's problems continued on Tuesday night as they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Leicester City in the Premier League, which has left the Blues down in eighth position in the table, 11 points off the summit.

Frank Lampard's side have only won two of their last eight in the league and therefore the FA Cup could prove a welcome distraction, particularly as they breezed past Morecambe in the third round of the competition, with Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, who have both struggled this season, on the scoresheet.

Chelsea are actually bidding to progress to the fifth round of the FA Cup for the 23rd time in their last 26 attempts, while they have not lost to a side from a lower division since 2015, when Bradford City recorded a famous victory in the fourth round of the competition.

The capital giants have won the FA Cup on eight occasions, the last of which was in 2018, while they also reached last season's final, losing 2-1 to Arsenal at the start of August.

The Blues actually met Luton in the semi-finals of this competition in 1994, recording a 2-0 victory at Wembley courtesy of a brace from Gavin Peacock, before losing to Manchester United in the final.

Luton Town's Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates against Bournemouth on January 16, 2021 © Reuters

Luton, meanwhile, are actually appearing in the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time in eight years, having beaten Reading 1-0 in the third round of the competition at the start of January.

The Hatters have only reached the fifth round once since their semi-final loss to Chelsea in 1994, and there is no question that they will be the underdogs to overcome the Premier League outfit on Sunday afternoon.

Luton last overcame top-flight opposition in this competition in 2012-13 when they beat Norwich City, while they have won three of their last five matches during a strong run of form.

Nathan Jones's side will enter this match off the back of a 1-0 defeat at Brentford in the Championship on Wednesday night, but a strong season to date has seen them collect 33 points from their 25 matches to sit 13th in the table, 13 points clear of the relegation zone.

Chelsea FA Cup form: WWWWLW
Chelsea form (all competitions): LDLWWL

Luton Town FA Cup form: WWDLLW
Luton Town form (all competitions): LWWLWL

Team News

Chelsea's Timo Werner celebrates scoring against Morecambe in the FA Cup on January 10, 2021 © Reuters

Chelsea will again be without the services of N'Golo Kante due to a thigh problem, while Olivier Giroud is expected to miss out with a foot injury, but the Blues are otherwise in good shape.

Lampard will make wholesale changes from the side that started against Leicester, with the starting XI expected to have a similar look to the one that featured against Morecambe in the last round.

As a result, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Werner, Hakim Ziyech and Havertz should all start, while Billy Gilmour, Emerson Palmieri and Kepa Arrizabalaga are all likely to earn spots in the side.

As for Luton, Martin Cranie and Eunan O'Kane will miss out through injury, while Tom Lockyer is suspended due to the red card that he picked up against Brentford in the Championship last time out.

Glen Rea is set to take Lockyer's spot in the starting XI, while Harry Cornick and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall could be handed starts alongside James Collins.

There is a chance that Jones could decide to shuffle his pack, though, with the likes of Ryan Tunnicliffe and Danny Hylton both pushing for spots in the first XI, while Moncur should also feature.

Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Kepa; Azpilicueta, Zouma, Christensen, Emerson; Mount, Gilmour, Havertz; Hudson-Odoi, Werner, Ziyech

Luton Town possible starting lineup:
Sluga; Pearson, Bradley, Rea; Bree, Tunnicliffe, Moncur, Dewsbury-Hall, Potts; Hylton, Collins

SM words green background

We say: Chelsea 2-0 Luton Town

Luton will be eyeing a huge scalp on Sunday afternoon, but we are finding it difficult to look past Chelsea on this occasion. The Blues will be determined to bounce back from a disappointing defeat at Leicester and should have more than enough to overcome their Championship opponents at Stamford Bridge.

Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.