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Premier League | Gameweek 20

Dec 30, 2023 at 12.30pm UK

Kenilworth Road Stadium

Luton
2 - 3
Chelsea

Barkley (80'), Adebayo (87')
Brown (27'), Mengi (77')

FT(HT: 0-2)

Palmer (12', 70'), Madueke (37')
Disasi (87'), Gusto (90+4')

Chelsea looking to avoid equalling 23-year run in Luton Town game

By Darren Plant, Senior Reporter | 29 December 2023

Chelsea looking to avoid equalling 23-year run in Luton game

Chelsea will be attempting to avoid equalling a 23-year streak when they square off against Luton Town in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

Chelsea will be hoping to avoid equalling a 23-year run when they face Luton Town at Kenilworth Road on Saturday.

On Wednesday evening, the Blues got back to winning ways as they recorded a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace, aided by a late penalty.

However, Mauricio Pochettino's side still sit in 10th position in the Premier League standings, six points adrift of seventh-placed Manchester United.

Collecting 10 points from their last four fixtures at Stamford Bridge has helped the West Londoners at least remain in some sort of contention for European qualification.

In sharp contrast, though, Chelsea have been poor away from their home ground, accumulating just 10 points from nine top-flight fixtures on their travels in 2023-24.

Most recently, Pochettino has witnessed his side suffer four successive defeats to Newcastle United, Man United, Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively.

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Mario Lemina celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates on December 22, 2023 © Reuters

Should Chelsea lose at Luton, it would equal their longest run of away defeats in the Premier League since they succumbed five times in a row between October and December 2000 when Claudio Ranieri was in charge.

Chelsea are also making the relatively short trip to Kenilworth Road to face a team that defeated Newcastle United at their home ground last weekend and earned a draw with Liverpool earlier in the campaign.

On a more positive note for Chelsea, they have put together an 11-year streak of results where they have not lost their final game of a calendar year.

Not since the 3-1 defeat at home to Aston Villa in 2011 have Chelsea lost such a fixture, winning seven times and drawing on four occasions during that period.

Ten points separate the two sides in the table, with Luton's back-to-back wins over Newcastle and Sheffield United moving them to within one point of safety, albeit with an inferior goal difference to 17th-placed Everton.

If Chelsea can prevail versus the Hatters, they will move to within one point of ninth-placed Newcastle before the Magpies face Liverpool on New Year's Day.