Fresh from their midweek victory in the FA Cup, Chelsea travel to the Gtech Community Stadium to lock horns with West London rivals Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
The Blues will be seeking revenge against the Bees after they suffered a 2-0 defeat in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge just over four months ago.
Match preview
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In the modern era, any manager that suffers 12 league defeats in a 15-game period would usually find themselves under immense pressure to keep their job, but that does not appear to be the case with Brentford boss Thomas Frank, who seemingly has the full support of the Bees board to turn their fortunes around.
Brentford had reason to be optimistic ahead of Monday's contest with another out-of-form side in West Ham United, but the Bees were beaten 4-2 at the London Stadium. Jarrod Bowen's hat-trick and an Emerson Palmieri wonder strike ultimately cancelled out goals from Neal Maupay and Yoane Wissa to condemn the visitors to their third consecutive loss.
After finishing ninth in the Premier League table last season, Brentford are languishing in 16th place this term and remain firmly in the relegation picture as they sit just five points above the drop zone with 12 games remaining – three of which are against the current bottom three.
Before facing the first of those – Burnley away on March 16 – Brentford have back-to-back London derbies to prepare for against Chelsea and Arsenal. The Bees have performed well against the former in recent years as they have kept a clean sheet in each of their last three meetings, including a goalless home draw and two 2-0 away wins.
Brentford may have only won one of their last six home games in all competitions since mid-December, but they will fancy their chances of completing their first league double over Chelsea since the 1938-39 campaign when the two teams face off on Saturday.
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Three days after their gut-wrenching EFL Cup final defeat in extra time to Liverpool, Chelsea initially showed signs of a hangover in their FA Cup fifth-round tie at home to Leeds United on Wednesday, as Mateo Joseph put the visitors into an eighth-minute lead.
The Blues responded well and turned the game on its head thanks to strikes from Nicolas Jackson and Mykhaylo Mudryk, before Joseph headed Leeds level just before the hour mark. The contest looked to be heading into extra time, but Conor Gallagher's 90th-minute goal helped the hosts run out 3-2 victors and secure their spot in the quarter-finals.
Mauricio Pochettino's side have been rewarded with a last-eight tie at home to Championship leaders Leicester City in two weeks' time, but they must first shift their focus back to the Premier League as they endeavour to climb back into the top half of the table and boost their hopes of securing European football for next season.
Aa a result of an inconsistent 2023-24 campaign, Chelsea find themselves sitting 11th in the top-flight standings after 10 wins, five draws and 10 defeats from 25 matches, nine points adrift of Manchester United in sixth and four points behind Brighton & Hove Albion in seventh spot.
Pochettino and co admirably claimed a point in their last top-flight match – a 1-1 draw at reigning champions Manchester City – after winning away at both Crystal Palace and Aston Villa by 3-1 scorelines, but further success on the road this weekend is not a given for the Blues as they have only won one of their five Premier League meetings with Brentford – their lowest win rate (20%) against an opponent they have faced at least five times in the division.
Team News
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Brentford are still having to cope without Bryan Mbeumo, Ethan Pinnock (both ankle), Kevin Schade (groin), Aaron Hickey (thigh), Rico Henry and Josh Dasilva (both knee) as they all continue to recover from long-term injuries.
Ben Mee is the latest name to enter the treatment room and the defender will miss the rest of the season after fracturing his ankle in the defeat to West Ham; Nathan Collins is set to be recalled as a result to join Kristoffer Ajer and Mathias Jorgensen in the back three.
Frank is unlikely to make too many other changes to his starting lineup, although Mads Roerslev could return at right wing-back at the expense of Keane Lewis-Potter, while Wissa will battle with Maupay for a start up front alongside Chelsea-linked Ivan Toney.
As for the visitors, Christopher Nkunku (unspecified), Wesley Fofana (knee), Reece James, Lesley Ugochukwu, Romeo Lavia (all thigh), Benoit Badiashile (groin) and Carney Chukwuemeka (ankle) all remain sidelined with injuries, but there is a "possibility" that Thiago Silva (groin) and Marc Cucurella (ankle) will return to the matchday squad.
Gallagher, Ben Chilwell and Cole Palmer were all not deemed 100% fit to start against Leeds – the former two suffered with fatigue while the latter was feeling ill the night before – but the Blues trio came on as second-half substitutes and they should all be in contention to start against Brentford.
The expected inclusion of Gallagher and Palmer will likely see two of Mudryk, Noni Madueke and Raheem Sterling make way, while the remaining attacker is set to operate on the left flank as Jackson continues to lead the line.
Brentford possible starting lineup:
Flekken; Jorgensen, Ajer, Collins; Roerslev, Janelt, Jensen, Norgaard, Reguilon; Wissa, Toney
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Petrovic; Gusto, Disasi, Colwill, Chilwell; Fernandez, Caicedo; Palmer, Gallagher, Mudryk; Jackson
We say: Brentford 1-1 Chelsea
While defeats have become almost predicable for Brentford considering their miserable run of form, it is difficult to forecast what Chelsea side will turn up on a match-by-match basis. Nevertheless, Pochettino's men will be regarded as favourites for Saturday's contest.
Both sides will view this fixture as a must-win if they wish to meet their respective end-of-season targets, but this could be another tight affair in West London that ultimately ends with the spoils being shared.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
