Chelsea at Luton Town: Three things to look for in FA Cup contest

2. Rest and rotation at the back

While it’s known that Chelsea will respond with a statement performance against Luton, it’s unknown who will be on the pitch to carry out these orders from the German manager. The Blues are back on a schedule that includes three games per week and that’s something the coaching staff must keep in mind when building its starting XI for Wednesday’s trip to Kenilworth Road. Unfortunately, the Championship playoff contenders are worthy competitors, so Chelsea cannot simply let the kids loose and expect a result. In fact, it’d be surprising to see any youth players named to the starting XI. That said, there will be a ton of rotation from Sunday’s team.

Before jumping into the rest and rotation discussion as it relates to the back line, it must be noted that Ben Chilwell and Hakim Ziyech are the only two Blues confirmed to be sidelined with injuries. Tuchel noted in his press conference that the latter will not feature after picking up an injury against Lille last week. Furthermore, Andreas Christensen looks set to miss out after suffering an injury in the build-up to the EFL Cup final. The other absences will be due to fatigue/recovery.

Expect Thiago Silva to be one of the many players given a rest, seeing as he went the distance in Chelsea’s last two games. Cesar Azpilicueta came off the pitch hobbling, so don’t expect him to play a part in this match either. Tuchel was very hesitant to play Reece James at all against Liverpool—the plan was for no more than 20 minutes—but he ended up playing almost a full 90 minutes due to Azpilicueta’s knock. It’d be incredibly surprising if James played either. As one can tell, a lot of the Blues’ absences will be at the back on Wednesday.

There is no telling who will start in defense. If there is a youth player called up to play somewhere at Luton Town, expect it to be along the back, where Lewis Hall or new youth signing from Derby, Dylan Williams, could feature. Otherwise, we could be treated to a back three of Trevoh Chalobah, Antonio Rudiger and Malang Sarr. A back three makes the most sense due to the ability of individuals like Callum Hudson-Odoi, Kenedy, Christian Pulisic and Saul to play in the wingback roles. The fullback options are limited, so a 3-4-3 makes sense. Keep an eye on how this makeshift unit holds up against a solid Championship attack from the Hatters.