Struggling Chelsea seek to halt the charge of in-form Brentford

Liam Rosenior will take charge of his first Premier League game when high-flying Brentford visit Stamford Bridge for Saturday’s London derby clash.

Rosenior’s first game in charge of the Blues ended in a 5-1 comfortable victory over Charlton Athletic in the third round of the FA Cup last weekend. The Englishman tasted defeat in his maiden match at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea fell to a narrow 3-2 defeat to Arsenal in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie.

Former interim boss Calum McFarlane took charge of Chelsea’s last Premier League game as the Blues were beaten 2-1 by West London rivals Fulham.

Brentford secured a spot in the fourth round of the FA Cup as they defeated Sheffield United 2-0 in the third round. The Bees triumphed 3-0 over Sunderland in their last Premier League outing.

Match preview

Chelsea have won just one of their last eight Premier League games against Brentford (D4 L3), a 2-1 victory in this exact fixture last season.

None of Brentford’s nine away league games against Chelsea have been drawn, with the Bees winning four and losing five.

The Blues have only won one of their previous nine Premier League games (D5 L3), while they’ve conceded the opening goal in each of their last three league games; they last did so in four straight matches in November 2023.

The Bees have lost 11 of their last 15 away London derbies in the Premier League (W3 D1), conceding at least twice in each defeat. Indeed, they’ve lost each of their last three by a 2-0 scoreline.

Keith Andrews’ side are unbeaten in each of their last six Premier League games (W4 D2), only enjoying longer unbeaten runs in the competition in March 2023 (12 games) and September 2023 (7).

Liam Rosenior will take charge of his first Premier League match; since Maurizio Sarri in August 2018 (3-0 win over Huddersfield Town), just one head coach has won their first Premier League game in charge of Chelsea (D4 L2), with Graham Potter beating Crystal Palace in October 2022 (D4 L2 inc. interims).

No Premier League duo have combined for more goals this season than Brentford’s Igor Thiago and Kevin Schade (4), with the German assisting three of the Brazilian’s goals.

Team news

Chelsea

Romeo Lavia and Levi Colwill are sidelined with injuries while Liam Delap and Jamie Gittens are out with illness.

Cole Palmer and Reece James are back in training after missing the midweek defeat to Arsenal and are in contention for selection.

Moises Caicedo is available after serving his one-match ban against Arsenal.

Brentford

Long-term absentees Josh Dasilva, Fabio Carvalho and Antoni Milambo are sidleined with injuries.

Frank Onyeka is away on international duty with Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Predicted line-ups

Chelsea: Sanchez, James, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez, Neto, Estevao, Garnacho, Pedro.

Brentford: Kelleher, Kayode, Ajer, Collins, Henry, Yarmolyuk, Janelt, Ouattara, Jensen, Schade, Thiago.