Head-to-head

Chelsea meet Luton Town for the first time since December 2023.

Chelsea and Luton have never met in the League Cup before. We have faced them five times in the FA Cup, winning four, while our only Full Members’ Cup meeting ended in defeat on penalties.

The Blues have won our past five meetings with Luton, starting with the 1994 FA Cup semi-final at Wembley. We then beat the Hatters in the FA Cup in both 2021 and 2022, before completing a Premier League double over them in 2023/24.

Luton’s last win at Stamford Bridge was 3-1 in September 1986 in the old First Division. Kerry Dixon scored our goal in front of just over 13,000 fans.

Head-to-head (all competitions)

Played: 47
Won: 21
Drawn: 13
Lost: 13

Last five meetings at Stamford Bridge

18 February 1991 Full Members' Cup D 1-1 Stuart (1-4 pens)
6 April 1991 Division One D 3-3 Le Saux, Stuart, Wise
31 August 1991 Division One W 4-1 Le Saux, Townsend, Dixon, Wise
24 January 2021 FA Cup W 3-1 Abraham 3
25 August 2023 Premier League W 3-0 Sterling 2, Jackson

Biggest win for each team:

Chelsea 4-0 Luton Town 1926/27 FA Cup
Luton Town 0-4 Chelsea 1956/57 Division One
Luton Town 4-0 Chelsea 1976/77 Division Two
Luton's biggest win at Stamford Bridge is 3-1 in 1957/58 and 1986/87, both in Division One

Chelsea stats

Having beaten Fulham on Monday, Chelsea are going for back-to-back wins for the first time since March, when we beat Aston Villa away in the Premier League and Wrexham away in the FA Cup.

Joao Pedro’s opener against Fulham, timed at 31 seconds, was our quickest goal since October 2016, when Pedro scored against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge after 30 seconds. The Blues went on to win 4-0 on that occasion.

This will be Chelsea’s third appearance in the League Cup second round in the past 30 years. The previous two both came at Stamford Bridge - a 3-2 win over Bristol Rovers in 2016 and a 2-1 victory against Wimbledon in 2023.

Chelsea have advanced from 27 of our last 28 League Cup ties against teams from outside the top flight, including each of the last 19, since losing on penalties to Burnley in November 2008.

Chelsea last went out in the League Cup second round in 1995/96, losing to Stoke City over two legs. After a goalless draw at the Victoria Ground, we were beaten 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.

The last time Chelsea were eliminated from the competition by a lower-division side was in the fourth round in November 2008, when we lost 5-4 on penalties to Burnley after a 1-1 draw.

Thursday’s game will be Chelsea’s 107th League Cup match at Stamford Bridge, having won 69 per cent of the previous 106 (five after a penalty shootout).

Chelsea lost our most recent Carabao Cup home match, against Arsenal in last season’s semi-final first leg. Our previous defeat at Stamford Bridge in the competition came against Manchester United in 2019.

If the aggregate scores are level after 90 minutes, the tie will be decided on penalties as there is no extra time in this competition until the semi-final stage.

It has been nearly three years since our last penalty shootout, when we beat Newcastle United 4-2 in the League Cup quarter-final in December 2023.

Luton stats

Last season

League One: Seventh
FA Cup: Lost at Fleetwood Town on penalties in the second round
League Cup: Lost 1-0 at Coventry City in the first round
EFL Trophy: Winners, beat Stockport County in the final
Top scorer: Jordan Clark 13

Best seasons in the League Cup

Winners: 1987/88 (beat Arsenal in the final)
Runners-up: 1988/89
Quarter-finals: 1978/79, 1998/99

Luton started their league season by beating Reading away 4-3 after being 3-1 down at half-time. Last Saturday they drew 2-2 with Notts County at Kenilworth Road. They are third in League One after two rounds of games.

The Hatters beat League Two side Gillingham 3-0 away in the Carabao Cup first round. Their scorers were Nahki Wells, Benny Benagr and Gideon Kodua.

Luton ended last season with three straight wins and have won two and drawn one this term, extending their unbeaten run to 15 matches since their last defeat on 7 March.

After their 2023/24 Premier League campaign, Luton suffered back-to-back relegations into League One, before missing out on the play-offs last season by just one point.

The most recent occasion Luton were involved in a shootout was in December last year, when they lost 4-2 on penalties to Fleetwood in the FA Cup second round.

Luton have been eliminated from eight of their past nine ties against Premier League opponents in the League Cup.

The Hatters have progressed from three of their last four Carabao Cup second-round ties, but lost on penalties to Queens Park Rangers in their most recent appearance at this stage, in 2024/25.

Former Blues academy players Kasey Palmer and George Saville play for Luton.

Jack Wilshere has never managed a side against Chelsea. As a player against the Blues, he won three games with two draws and seven defeats between 2010 and 2020, with Bolton Wanderers, Arsenal, Bournemouth and West Ham United.

Since being appointed manager last October, Wilshere has recorded a 52 per cent win rate and led Luton to EFL Trophy victory at Wembley in April.

2026/27 Luton results

Gillingham (League Cup, a) W 3-0
Reading (a) W 4-3
Notts County (h) D 2-2

Last line-up

Luton Town 2-2 Notts County
Saturday 22 August
Team (4-1-4-1): Keeley; Jones (Ashby 80), Andersen, Johnston, Naismith (c); Walsh; Richards, Clark (Kodua 18), Palmer, Lawrence (Benagr 62); Wells (Marshall 62)
Scorers: Wells pen 42, Marshall 68

Discipline

Wesley Fofana is suspended (second of two games) following his second red card of 2025/26, against Sunderland on the final day of last season.

Yellow cards only count in the competition they are received. In the Carabao Cup, two bookings will result in a one-match suspension.

Match officials

Referee: Elliot Bell
Assistants: Nick Hopton and Shaun Hudson
Fourth official: Sunny Singh Gill
There is no VAR

Elliot Bell is taking charge of his first Chelsea game.