Chelsea will be heavy favourites to beat League One side Luton Town in the Carabao Cup second round on Thursday, with head coach Xabi Alonso expected to ring the changes.
Chelsea won their opening game of the season 3-2 away at Fulham, but Alonso will likely rest many of his bigger players ahead of Sunday’s home Premier League match against Brighton.
Penders in goal and midfield changes
The highly-rated Mike Penders could be given the nod in goal, with Robert Sanchez having made two mistakes against Fulham.
In midfield, 16-year-old Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli impressed in pre-season after being given a lot of minutes and will be hoping he gets the nod to start, where he would make his competitive debut for Chelsea if he did.
Other midfield options include Romeo Lavia, though Moises Caicedo is set to miss out again through injury. Marco Palestra also missed the Fulham game and will be unavailable once more.
Alonso on Caicedo and Palestra
When asked on Wednesday about Caicedo and Palestra, Alonso said of their availability against Luton: “Not for tomorrow. Both. Let’s hope Moi can make it for the weekend. We need to check a little bit more with Marco.”
Alonso’s front three of Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro and new £117million man Morgan Rogers all found the net against Fulham but could have reduced roles against Luton.
Defensive reshuffle and predicted XI
Wesley Fofana serves the second match of his two-game suspension following a red card on the final day of last season at Sunderland. That could mean more minutes for Reece James, Josh Acheampong, Jorrel Hato or new signing Maxence Lacroix at the back for Chelsea.
If Valentin Barco appears in midfield, he will make his competitive Chelsea debut.
Chelsea predicted XI vs Luton (3-4-2-1): Penders; James, Acheampong, Hato; Gusto, Nicoll-Jazuli, Barco, Chavarria; Estevao, Gittens; Welbeck.
Suspended: Fofana. Injured: Caicedo, Palestra, Henderson. Doubt: Emegha.
Time and date: 7.30pm BST on Thursday, August 27, 2026. How to watch: Sky Sports. Venue: Stamford Bridge.
