Overview
After a 5-1 victory over Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup in his debut match, Liam Rosenior quickly experienced his first defeat at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea lost to Arsenal with a score of 2-3 in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
In just 4 days with two opposite results and before a tight schedule, Rosenior admitted that Chelsea "must learn quickly" if they want to turn the tide on all fronts, in the context that fans continue to express dissatisfaction with the club's board of directors.
Chelsea have 5 more matches before replaying Arsenal in the second leg, including 3 Premier League matches against Brentford, Crystal Palace and West Ham. The west London team is trying to return to the top four from the current eighth position to continue the race to win tickets to the Champions League.
The Blues' form in the Premier League is causing concern as they have only won one of their last 9 matches (5 draws, 3 losses). Notably, Chelsea have conceded the opening goal in all 3 recent rounds - something they have not experienced in 4 consecutive matches since November 2023.
Since Maurizio Sarri's time in 2018, only one Chelsea coach has won the first Premier League match leading the team. That was Graham Potter against Crystal Palace in October 2022. Therefore, a smooth start for Rosenior this weekend is still a question mark, especially when Chelsea has only won one of their last eight encounters with Brentford, except for the 2-1 home win last season.
Meanwhile, Brentford is far exceeding initial predictions for a difficult season. The "Bees" are currently ranked fifth in the rankings, only 2 points behind Liverpool and 19 points ahead of the relegation group.
Only Arsenal (16 points) has more points than Brentford (14) in the last 6 rounds. Keith Andrews's team has scored 13 goals in 4 wins against Wolves, Bournemouth, Everton and Sunderland, and defeated Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 in the FA Cup to extend their away winning streak to 3 matches in all competitions.
In front of Brentford is a series of 5 challenging Premier League matches against Chelsea, Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Arsenal. However, they entered this weekend's match with notable achievements at Stamford Bridge.
They have never drawn in the last 9 away matches here in the Premier League (4 wins, 5 losses), including a 3-game winning streak before losing 1-2 in December 2024.
However, Brentford's London derby performance away from home is not very positive. They have lost 11 of their last 15 Premier League matches against city rivals (3 wins, 1 draw), and have all conceded at least 2 goals in each defeat.
Personnel situation
Chelsea continues to face many personnel losses. Levi Colwill (broken anterior cruciate ligament), Romeo Lavia (knee injury) and Mykhailo Mudryk (suspended for doping) are all definitely absent. Meanwhile, Liam Delap and Jamie Gittens are still sick and are likely not to recover in time to participate in the weekend match.
Cole Palmer (muscle) and Reece James (neck) are expected to return to training after missing in the defeat against Arsenal in the middle of the week, but the possibility of both playing needs to be assessed closely before the match. The case of Malo Gusto is also similar due to unspecified problems.
On Brentford's side, Josh Dasilva, Fabio Carvalho and Antoni Milambo continue to be absent for a long time due to knee injuries. Jordan Henderson will have to have a fitness test due to an ankle problem before kick-off.
Frank Onyeka is still on duty at the African Cup, while Dango Ouattara has returned and is ready to play. Keith Andrews will consider whether to bring this player back to the starting lineup immediately or not.
Expected lineup:
Sanchez, James, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez, Neto, Palmer, Garnacho, Pedro.
Kelleher, Kayode, Ajer, Collins, Henry, Yarmolyuk, Janelt, Ouattara, Jensen, Schade, Thiago.
The match between Chelsea and Brentford takes place at 10:00 PM on January 17 (Vietnam time).
