Overview
Chelsea is reviving strongly in the 2024-2025 season. The Blues have won all 6 of their most recent matches and scored 19 goals. Not only have they won continuously, they have also contributed to a fiery and completely overwhelming attacking style of play. Against tough opponents like Tottenham or Aston Villa, coach Enzo Maresca's team has had more than 60% of the ball possession.
With their form on the rise, hosting Brentford at Stamford Bridge is not a difficult challenge for Chelsea. Although Brentford is also in impressive form, winning 3 and drawing 1 in the last 5 rounds in the Premier League, their victories all came at home at Gtech Community.
On the contrary, the "Bees" played poorly every time they left home. They only had 1 draw against Everton, the rest were 6 away losses.
While Chelsea have the best attack in the league with 35 goals scored, Brentford have the worst defence in the top 10 with 28 goals conceded. In a broader sense, Brentford are the 5th worst defensive team in the Premier League this season.
With extremely poor away form and a vulnerable defense, Brentford's chances of creating a surprise against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge are not high.
However, recent head-to-head record is in Brentford's favour. They have lost just one of their last six Premier League meetings with Chelsea, including a five-match unbeaten run.
Human resources situation
Maresca are almost certain to return to full strength after fielding a substitutes side in the 3-1 win over FC Astana in the Europa Conference League. However, Pedro Neto is unavailable through suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season.
On the other side of the front line, Brentford will continue to be without defensive pair Aaron Hickey and Rico Henry due to injury. However, Vitaly Janelt could be fit enough to return to the squad this weekend.
Expected squad:
Chelsea: Sanchez, Caicedo, Badiashile, Colwill, Cucurella, Fernandez, Lavia, Madueke, Palmer, Sancho, Jackson.
Brentford: Flekken, Van den Berg, Collins, Pinnock, Mbeumo, Norgaard, Yarmoliuk, Lewis-Potter, Wissa, Carvalho, Thiago.
The match between Chelsea and Brentford takes place at 2:00 a.m. on December 16 (Vietnam time).
