Date: Sunday 6th April
2025
Venue: Gtech Community
Stadium
Kick-off: 14:00 BST
This afternoon’s game sees us travel to the Gtech to take on Brentford who haven’t had a competitive home win against Chelsea for 87 years. Unlike many of us then, they’ll be encouraged to see Enzo Maresca in the away dug-out.
The Bees were on a good run away from home before facing
Newcastle midweek, when a five-game winning run away from the Gtech came to an
end. It’s a different story at home however, where they have failed to win in
the last 7.
Chelsea have that problem in reverse, with a five-game
winning run at home but just 2 points from our last seven games away from home,
with defeats in each of the last four on our travels.
Chelsea come into today’s game off the back of a 1-0 win
against Sp*rs on Thursday night. Call it marginal if you like but we were head
and shoulders the better side for most of the game and Caicedo was quite
frankly robbed for what should have been our second goal.
Our last 2 games at the Gtech have ended all square but sitting in 4th place with City and Villa a point behind us and just a 2-point gap separating us from 7th placed Newcastle, now is really not the time to be dropping points, so we’ll need a keen eye on Mbeumo given the joy he tends to have against us.
MANAGER’S VIEWS
Going into
today’s game, Brentford manager, Thomas Frank, says “We are facing a very
strong Chelsea team that after a strong start to the season had a little
bit of a dip for whatever reason, also had a few injuries. I watched them
(against Tottenham), they looked strong, they looked good. All of their key
players more or less are available so it’s a fully-firing Chelsea team we
are facing. They need the Champions League spot. I think it’s fair to say that
they are under pressure. I’m not trying to play any games here but they need
the Champions League spot and they need to win against us.”
Enzo
Maresca, meanwhile, says “Every time you win, preparation for the next game
is better. Hopefully, from the Tottenham game we can build momentum, knowing
that every game will be difficult until the end. We need to recover energy and
go again. For Sunday, it will be about how we manage the tiredness. Brentford
for sure will be a very tough game. You saw on Wednesday night they lost
away at Newcastle, but it was a tough game. From now on, every game is going to
be tough. The target is to try to finish where we have been all season. In the
first five or six months, because we were second, the expectations changed a
little bit. But all season, we have been in the top four or five, and we will
try our best to finish there.”
SQUAD NEWS
For Brentford, Fabio Carvalho (shoulder),
Josh Dasilva and Igor Thiago (both knee) are out. Aaron Hickey and Gustavo
Nunes are unlikely to feature but Rico Henry (hamstring) is in contention.
For Chelsea, Marc Guiu (hamstring), Omari
Kellyman (hamstring), Wesley Fofana (hamstring) and Romeo Lavia (muscle) are injured.
Mykhaylo Mudryk (suspended) also remains out.
TEAMS
BRENTFORD
(Possible line-up): Flekken;
Van den Berg, Collins, Pinnock, Lewis-Potter; Norgaard, Janelt; Mbeumo,
Damsgaard, Schade; Wissa
CHELSEA
(Possible line-up): Sanchez;
Gusto, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Madueke, Palmer, Neto;
Jackson
LAST SEASON
Brentford 2-2 Chelsea
(2nd March 2024)
CURRENT FORM (ALL)
Brentford: WWDLWL
Chelsea: LLWWLW
OTHER STUFF
- Chelsea are unbeaten in seven league and cup visits to Brentford
since 1938.
- Chelsea have not completed a league double over Brentford since the
1946-47 campaign.
- Brentford have gone seven Premier League games without a home win.
- Brentford are the only top-flight side without a home clean sheet
this season.
- Brentford have lost 10 of their last 16 Premier League London
derbies.
- Brentford have lost their last two home league derbies.
- Chelsea could lose five successive Premier League away games for
the first time since 2000.
- Chelsea have won just two of their last 10 away games in all
competitions.
- Chelsea have gone eight domestic games without a win on the road.
- Chelsea have won five of their last six games in all competitions,
losing the other.
PREDICTION
Sportsmole: Brentford 2-2 Chelsea
