Luton will create sense of deja vu 32 years apart if they can beat Chelsea today, though boss Rob Edwards has urged fans not to expect victory despite the current feel good factor around the club.
Town go into the lunchtime kick-off on the back of two consecutive wins for the first time in the Premier League, including a huge 3-2 comeback victory over fellow strugglers Sheffield United.
It has raised hopes that the Hatters can avoid relegation and that would be given another huge boost if they can enact some revenge against Chelsea for an early season 3-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge to see out 2023 in style.
It was the Christmas period in 1991 that Luton last won three top-flight games in a row and as fate would have it, the third victory came at home to Chelsea, a 2-0 triumph with a team containing chief recruitment officer Mick Harford.
This season, a second straight victory at Kenilworth Road could lift them out of the bottom three, at least for a matter of hours.
“If we’re able to do that I’ll take satisfaction because we’re taking points right now and that’s important,” said Edwards.
“This club has had a brilliant history and then had tough times and I think it’s important that we all enjoy these moments now. It’s hard for me to do it but I want everyone else to do it if they can, to enjoy wins in the Premier League because it’s difficult.
“We have to be at full, full tilt every day in training, every game to compete at this level and the players are doing that and deserve a lot of credit.
“We should enjoy that, if the third one (victory) comes along tomorrow, we’ll all be delighted.”
Chelsea beat Crystal Palace on Wednesday but have lost their last three on the road and only won three times all term away from west London.
But despite their inconsistent form, Edwards said: “They’re still a team that can go up against anyone on their day because they have the players to do that. We get it, we respect that and everyone’s got to understand that as well. Don’t just be rocking up thinking we’re going to win, we’re going to beat Chelsea.
“It’s certainly not going to be that easy. We have to be at our absolute best as we have been in recent weeks, and then we have a chance.”
The Blues comfortably beat Luton at the Bridge in the second game week of the season, as Town had a baptism of fire in their opening matches after their promotion from the Championship.
But though Town’s learning curve has been steep they’ve been putting in the performances, particularly at home against the so-called big six sides, to suggest they’re starting to meet the demands of the Premier League.
Chelsea’s visit will be the first time the Hatters have played a team twice this term and Edwards said of their last Raheem Sterling-dominated encounter: “I still think there’s bits we can learn from that game. It’s funny, because we did a lot well in the game. We were playing slightly differently at the time, a bit of a different shape.
“At 60-odd minutes we were 1-0 down and still in the game, pushing. Gilo (Ryan Giles) had a good chance. But Chelsea have got that quality to go bang, bang and they hit us with a couple of quick goals and that was it, game done.
“But, the performance, we can take something from it that night. Both teams have played a lot of games since then and there’s a lot of water under the bridge, but there’s probably little bits we can take.
“We’re still learning and improving and that’ll always be the case.”
He added: “I think we’re more aggressive now, in terms of our press, especially at home. We’re beginning to have more spells of more control with the ball as well.
“I don’t necessarily think it suits us to be a team that’s going to dominate and control the game with the ball, but we are evolving and I like the way we’re going.
“We still want to attack quickly, we still want to transition quickly as well. We still want to get crosses in the box and we’re still good with set pieces.
“All of those things we work hard on and we’re doing pretty well at the moment. But I think we’re now more used to the physical demands of the league, the speed at which everything happens.
“So, I think we’re a little bit more in tune with that.”
