Chelsea will look to continue their Premier League hot streak on Sunday when they host Brentford at Stamford Bridge. Despite lying ninth in the league, the visitors have picked up just one point on the road, with 22 of their 23 points coming courtesy of their outstanding home form.
With their recent record, Chelsea will be confident of dispatching the Bee’s here and prolonging their travelling troubles, and a win here would keep the pressure on league leaders Liverpool, who currently sit four points ahead of them.
The will back themselves further after picking up a win over Astana in their midweek Conference League fixture, which kicked off in -16 degree weather. Playing back at Stamford Bridge will be like taking a sunny walk in the park by comparison.
As the game approaches, here is everything you need to know about both sides ahead of kick off.
Chelsea Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1): Robert Sanchez (GK); Marc Cucurella, Levi Colwill, Beniot Badiashile, Moises Caicedo; Romeo Lavia, Enzo Fernandez; Jadon Sancho, Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke; Nicolas Jackson.
Chelsea are well and truly motoring under Enzo Maresca. With their breathless, hectic win over Tottenham at the weekend, they won the toughest fixture they have scheduled for the next month, and starting with their game against Brentford, they begin a run of playing six consecutive league games against sides ranked 8th or lower.
Now four points behind leaders Liverpool, and sitting in solo second after a week of sharing the place with Arsenal, Maresca seems to have imprinted his vision on his young side in double quick time.
Many will say that it’s about time that Chelsea’ billion pound squad finally started to show some quality, but remember, their starting XI is by far the youngest in the league, averaging just 23.2 years. They were always going to need a couple of seasons of nurturing before starting to show their qualities.
And Maresca appears to be just the right man to take the club to the top. With Cole Palmer flourishing, and players such as Jadon Sancho, Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson are starting to hit form that has abandoned them in seasons past. They could well mount a serious tilt at the title come April/March.
Brentford Predicted Lineup (3-4-2-1): Mark Flekken (GK); Ethan Pinnock, Nathan Collins, Sepp van den Berg; Keane Lewis-Potter, Christian Norgaard, Yegor Yarmoliuk, Bryan Mbeumo, Fabio Carvalho, Yoane Wissa; Thiago Rodrigues.
Thomas Frank has worked wonders in his time at Brentford. Getting them promoted is one thing, and keeping the side in the Premier League in their first season is even more impressive, but now he has transformed them into an established Premier League, something which six years ago, didn’t look likely in the slightest.
Their 4-2 win over Newcastle last weekend stood testament to how far they have come. Seemingly thriving without the goalscoring ability of Ivan Toney, Mbeumo and Wissa are deputising more than capably, and with a quality squad behind their goal scorers, Brentford have more than enough about them to challenge Chelsea.
However, their away form has been their greatest weakness this season, and it is hard to see that trend changing on Sunday. Brentford are always a good watch, but they ship a lot of goals, something you simply can’t afford to do against the most efficient attack in the division.
Last five meetings:
Combining Chelsea’s soaring form and Brentford’s abysmal away record this season, this game has only one outcome.
That is why we are backing Chelsea to win and maintain pressure on Liverpool at the top.
Chelsea 3-1 Brentford
Brentford have scored in all but two of their games this season, interestingly against both Merseyside clubs Liverpool and Everton, so they look likely to score.
However, Chelsea’s attacking firepower will overwhelm them, and their lead will already be commanding when Brentford score.
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