After securing an impressive comeback win at Tottenham last Sunday, the debate around Chelsea’s place in the title race has raged back and forth and after also extending their perfect Conference League run on Thursday, the Blues will now look to extend their good form against local rivals Brentford.
By Dan Tracey
The Bees have been almost perfect when it comes to this season’s league outings at the GTech Community Stadium but Thomas Frank’s side have been largely forgettable on the road. It’s a conundrum we looked at in detail earlier in the week – in an article you can read here.
The Form Guide
Enzo Maresca’s side return to Stamford Bridge having won their last six matches in all competitions and unbeaten in their last nine using the same criteria. Not since their Carabao Cup defeat at Newcastle in October have the Blues been second best when the final whistle blows.
As for opponents Brentford, this season they are a team that Jekyll and Hyde would be most proud of. The Bees have collected an impressive 22 league points from the 24 available at home but have picked up just a single point from the 21 offered on their travels.
Who Are The Key Players
This encounter could well be won by whose strike partnership performs best on the day. The visitors will have to be wary of the 19 league goals that Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson have scored between them this season.
But by comparison, the combined 18 league goals that Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbuemo have bagged should not be overlooked either and although there were fears that Brentford would decline when Ivan Toney cashed in his chips to move to Saudi Arabia, his two former teammates have more than picked up the slack.
Who’s in and who’s out?
After a busy week both home and abroad, Chelsea manager Maresca will ring the changes. Not only because of Pedro Neto’s one-game suspension for five bookings but also due to fitness doubts surrounding the midfield pair of Enzo Fernández and Roméo Lavia.
Brentford will monitor the fitness of Vitaly Janelt before they make the short trip across the capital but he is likely to appear. The same cannot be said for teammate Mathias Jensen who suffered a hamstring injury at the start of the month and is not expected to be fit for this one.
Prediction
Although Chelsea have had to cross continents with their trip to Kazakhstan this week, the additional time in the air should not hamper their bid to beat Brentford on Sunday – especially when you consider just how poor the Bees have been away from home this season.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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