Chelsea will have the chance to rectify their Carabao Cup final defeat to Liverpool with another cup tie, this time against Championship side Luton Town in the FA Cup fifth round.
Thomas Tuchel’s men lost 11-10 on penalties to Liverpool, with substitute goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga missing the decisive penalty.
However, the Spaniard will likely be given an opportunity to redeem himself somewhat as he takes up his duties as Chelsea’s cup ‘keeper.
Luton are currently sixth in the second tier, and are pushing for promotion to the Premier League for the first time ever, despite being in non-league as recently as 2013.
With Burnley to come in the league this weekend, Tuchel will look to rotate against Luton, and give minutes to those in need of game time.
Kepa will be the man chosen in between the sticks, but in front of him it will be slightly different. However, due to injuries Tuchel won’t be able to rest his key defenders as he’d like.
Thiago Silva, at 37, will be dropped, but Antonio Rudiger and Trevoh Chalobah will need to play thanks to the absence of Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilcueta. Malang Sarr will be handed a start.
Reece James came off the bench against Liverpool, and he’ll likely do the same against Luton as Tuchel aims to avoid rushing him back to action. Callum Hudson-Odoi also returned to the squad for the final, so will start at right-wing-back, with James a likely half-time substitute as the pair look for match fitness.
Both Jorginho and Saul started on the bench against Liverpool, so will replace N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek could form a midfield three. Marcos Alonso will continue at left-wing-back.
Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic and Kai Havertz could all be rested, with a front two of Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku taking to the field instead.
Youngsters Harvey Vale and Lewis Hall may feature off the bench.