Brentford vs Chelsea Preview: Sides set for West London derby

Brentford will host West London neighbours Chelsea in the Premier League on Friday evening.

Both sides are looking to establish themselves in the European qualification places before the international break.

Chelsea have seen their side’s start to the season hampered by injuries to key players.

Manager Xabi Alonso has said however that “No-one is ruled out” ahead of the game. But clarified he “prefers to be cautious.”

Form Guide

Brentford are unbeaten in eight competitive games, a run which stretches back to the end of last season.

They are winless in their last three league games however, since beating Tottenham 3-0 at home on the opening weekend.

Chelsea’s season meanwhile has lost momentum after wins over Fulham and Brighton in their opening two league games.

The Blues lost 2-1 away at Arsenal, and drew 2-2 at home to Hull, either side of a 6-3 win at home to Leeds in the Carabao Cup.

Head-to-Head Record

Chelsea are unbeaten in their last five games against Brentford, since a 2-0 loss at Stamford Bridge in October 2023.

The Blues’ record at the G-Tech Community Stadium is even better.

Brentford have not beaten their West London rivals at home since a 1-0 win in October 1938.

This fixture produced an entertaining 2-2 draw last season, where goals from Cole Palmer and Moises Caicedo helped Chelsea come from 1-0 down at half-time to lead late on, before Fabio Carvalho equalised for Brentford in stoppage time.

The sides met at Stamford Bridge in January, where Chelsea won 2-0 thanks to a Joao Pedro strike, and a penalty from Palmer.

Remarkably, this is Chelsea’s most recent Premier League clean sheet, with the Blues having conceded in each of their last 20 league games.

Team News

Brentford will continue to be without captain Nathan Collins, who picked up a calf injury in his side’s 1-1 draw at home to Sunderland on Saturday September 5th.

Manager Keith Andrews said after the Sunderland game that “it’s unfortunate that the skipper had to come off, but it was an introduction for Jannik (Schuster), which I thought he relished.”

Schuster continued to deputise for Collins in the 2-2 draw away to Bournemouth last Saturday.

His role in the squad has also been made more important by the ongoing injuries to centre-backs Sepp van den Berg and Benjamin Frederick.

Chelsea meanwhile may be lacking in central midfield, due to Caicedo’s ongoing calf injury.

Predicted Starting 11s

Brentford (4-2-3-1): Caoimhín Kelleher, Keane Lewis-Potter, Kristoffer Ajer, Jannik Schuster, Aaron Hickey, Vitaly Janelt, Mamadou Sangare, Kevin Schade, Mikkel Damsgaard, Jaidon Anthony, Igor Thiago.

Chelsea (3-4-2-1): Emiliano Martinez, Levi Colwill, Maxence Lacroix, Wesley Fofana, Pep Chavarria, Romeo Lavia, Reece James, Malo Gusto, Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers, Joao Pedro.

Match Prediction

Both of these sides have shown moments of attacking quality this season but have struggled to close out games.

Chelsea’s midfield is a particular concern, but the Blues have more options going forward.

Brentford 2-2 Chelsea