Chelsea vs Brentford Preview: Team News & Prediction
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Liam Rosenior’s first Premier League game in charge of Chelsea is a tricky west London derby against in-form and high-flying Brentford at Stamford Bridge this weekend.
Kick-off date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – Not televised / USA – NBC
How to watch online: UK – Cannot be streamed / USA – Peacock
Chelsea preview: Rosenior’s start
Liam Rosenior took charge of Chelsea about a week and a half ago and oversaw a 5-1 demolition of Championship outfit Charlton Athletic at The Valley in the third round of the FA Cup last weekend.
In his second game, the Blues succumbed to a 3-2 loss to Arsenal in the first-leg of their EFL Cup semi-final at Stamford Bridge in midweek. That was a fairly poor performance in which the result flattered them.
Brentford preview: High-flying Bees
Despite seeming chaos over the summer, Brentford have been brilliant this season in what is Keith Andrews’ first managerial role as the Bees begin the weekend’s round of fixtures sitting just outside of the top four.
The Bees extended their current unbeaten run of form to six matches across all competitions with a comfortable 2-0 defeat of Championship crisis club Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough in the FA Cup third round last weekend.
Chelsea team news: A few issues
Liam Rosenior is confident that England international duo Reece James and Cole Palmer could be involved for this weekend after returning to training on Thursday.
However, their compatriots, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and Liam Delap, have been unavailable for training due to illness, while Moises Caicedo has returned from his EFL Cup suspension.
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Acheampong, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, Santos; Neto, Fernandez, Garnacho; Pedro
Unavailable: Colwill (Injured), Lavia (Injured), Mudryk (Disciplinary)
Questionable: Gusto (Injured), James (Fitness), Palmer (Fitness), Gittens (Illness), Delap (Illness)
Brentford team news: Ouattara returns
Dango Ouattara wasn't rushed back for the cup last weekend but the Burkina Faso international attacker is now available after returning from the CAF Africa Cup of Nations.
Frank Onyeka remains at the tournament, though, with his Nigeria side in the third place playoff, while experienced midfielder Jordan Henderson is a doubt after sustaining an ankle injury.
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Kelleher; Kayode, Collins, Ajer, Hickey; Yarmolyuk, Jensen; Lewis-Potter, Damsgaard, Schade; Thiago
Unavailable: Milambo (Injured), Dasilva (Injured), Onyeka (International duty), Carvalho (Injured)
Questionable: Henderson (Injured)
Chelsea vs Brentford prediction
Chelsea have been quite entertaining in the early days of the Rosenior era with 11 goals coming in their two matches thus far. Rosenior has perhaps lacked the control thus far that he craved at both Hull City and Strasbourg. Brentford don’t want control with their direct and aggressive ability to stream forward with the likes of Igor Thiago and Kevin Schade in particular working very well for them. Brentford are efficient and will cause problems for the hosts.
Chelsea vs Brentford tip: Both teams to score
