Chelsea opens its 2026-27 Carabao Cup run on Thursday at Stamford Bridge against League One side Luton Town in the second round.
Xabi Alonso enjoyed a winning start to his Chelsea career on Monday, beating Fulham 3-2 at Craven Cottage. João Pedro opened the scoring after 31 seconds, the fastest opening-round goal in Premier League history.
Chelsea is chasing a sixth League Cup title. Alonso is likely to rotate through his deep squad heavily with a match against Brighton on Sunday.
Watch Chelsea vs. Luton Town on Paramount+
Luton Town is in the third tier under first-year manager Jack Wilshere, the former Arsenal midfielder. The Hatters missed out on last season's League One playoffs by a single point after back-to-back relegations from the Premier
League and Championship.
This is the fifth Chelsea-Luton meeting in the last five years. Chelsea won FA Cup ties in 2021 and 2022, then did the double over Luton during the Hatters' only Premier League season in 2023-24.
If you are looking for betting advice for the matchup, we've got you covered. Here are the latest odds for the game, courtesy of OddsWire.
Chelsea vs. Luton Town game odds
Chelsea vs. Luton Town prediction, pick
Even with rotation Chelsea has the depth to name a starting XI capable of running away with this one. Luton was better than its finish suggests last season, but the gap in class is hard to ignore.
Prediction: Chelsea 3, Luton Town 0
Chelsea vs. Luton Town channel, start time, streaming
- When: Thursday, August 27
- Where: Stamford Bridge (London, England)
- Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
- Channel/streaming: Paramount+ (WATCH HERE)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chelsea vs. Luton Town Carabao Cup prediction, start time, how to watch
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