Chelsea vs Brentford

Stamford Bridge is the venue as Chelsea and Brentford go head-to-head in a handsomely-looking Premier League London derby.

Despite fielding an understrength line-up during a midweek Europa Conference League trip to Kazakhstan, Enzo Maresca oversaw a comfortable 3-1 win at Astana. After setting one foot in the competition’s knockout stages, Chelsea return to Premier League action, aiming to intensify the pressure on leaders Liverpool after four consecutive league triumphs saw them whittle down the gap on the Reds to only five points! Maresca would appreciate more consistency from his side at the Bridge, where the Blues have alternated between victories (3) and stalemates (3) across their last six league games. Ominously, two of those three draws came against fellow London rivals, which doesn’t bode well for Chelsea’s bid to avenge a dreadful three-game losing top-flight run against Brentford on home turf! 

As for Brentford, they reaffirmed their surprising pursuit of a first-ever European finish with an action-packed 4-2 home triumph against Newcastle United last weekend, reducing the gap on sixth-placed Aston Villa to only two points. However, taking points away from home has proved elusive for Thomas Frank’s team this season. Except for a scoreless draw at Everton last month, the Bees have lost all six remaining Premier League matches on the road via an aggregate score of 14-5. Only five goals scored outside the Gtech Community Stadium are a far cry from Brentford’s formidable scoring record on home turf (26)! Therefore, it’s hardly surprising they’re the only side alongside rock-bottom Southampton yet to win an away league fixture this term.