Mauricio Pochettino knows from his own experience how an underdog can go away to a big team and secure a shock result, something the Blues are hoping to avoid being on the receiving end of tonight.
We welcome Premier League new boys Luton Town to Stamford Bridge with a first three points of the season the obvious target for Pochettino and his players.
However, the head coach is taking nothing for granted. As he looked ahead to the game, he recalled a famous 2-1 win he oversaw at the Nou Camp in 2009, right at the start of his managerial career.
‘With Espanyol we beat the dream team of Barcelona, with Guardiola, with Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol,’ said Pochettino.
‘It was the first time the bottom team beat the top team. It never happened in the past. It was amazing, in the Camp Nou. It was a little bit lucky also!
‘You could say Luton and Chelsea is similar to Espanyol and Barcelona. It’s the beauty of football. Sometimes we faced Real Madrid, and we could not complain. I know how you feel when you face this type of team. I was in one side, and now I’m in another.
‘There was nothing to lose,’ added Pochettino. ‘We had to be brave, not worry about making a mistake. It can only happen in a game like football. You can shoot 30 times and not score, and you can shoot once and score. In other sports, impossible. Football is about belief, being together, and then if you match this it’s about the quality of the players.’
Pochettino wants the quality of his players to tell tonight, but before that can be the case, he stressed we must equal the Hatters’ renowned determination and desire. It was those qualities that helped them secure an unlikely promotion from the Championship last term.
‘I was telling the players in the pre-match meeting we need to match the aggression of the Luton players,’ revealed Pochettino.
‘If we match all this, the will and everything, we presume we have better quality and we will win. But if not, the game can be crazy and we can win or we can lose. That is football.
‘It’s going to be a tough game. We were analysing them and they are a strong team. It’s so clear the way they play, 5-3-2, really fast in transition, really strong in set-pieces.
‘It’s a team we need to respect and be careful and be ready to match them in the way they play, and then be clear in the way we play and try to make a difference.’