Brentford v Chelsea – Preview, Predictions, and Best Bets

Brentford host Chelsea in the English Premier League on Saturday. The Bees have lost 11 of their last 14 matches and host a Blues side with no clean sheets in seven fixtures. Chelsea are three matches away to Brentford without leaking a goal.

Brentford Form

Thomas Frank’s side are in dire form. Their last 14 matches across all competitions have seen 11 defeats. After five successive league defeats in December, they beat Nottingham Forest 3-2 at home as Ivan Toney returned. The Bees are beaten 3-2 at Tottenham and 3-1 at home by Man City after that.

With a relegation battle looking, Brentford won 2-0 at Wolves with 29% possession. It proved a false dawn as they were beaten 4-1 at home by Liverpool and 1-0 at Man City in a fighting display. They were dire in a 4-2 loss at West Ham last week, leaking two goals in the first seven minutes.

Brentford Team News

The injury woes of this season are not getting any better. Left wingbacks Rico Henry and Aaron Hickey were already out injured and both Ethan Pinnock and Ben Mee could be missing at the back. The latter has a small chance of shaking off an ankle knock to play. Josh Dasilva is absent in midfield.

In attack, Bryan Mbuemo and Kevin Schade are unavailable. Nathan Collins, Yoane Wissa, and Vitaly Janelt are all pushing to be handed starting roles in this match.

Brentford Motivation

As against all of the big six sides, Brentford will defend in a 5-3-2 and look to be compact, direct, and hard to beat.

A draw would be a good result but they will see Chelsea as beatable. The Bees will look to hurt the Blues and take all three points here.

Chelsea Form

Chelsea are all over the place this season. After one loss in seven, two awful defeats followed soon after. They were destroyed 4-1 at Anfield against Liverpool and lost 4-2 at Stamford Bridge to Wolves. To show how inconsistent they are, they then went to Aston Villa and led 3-0 before winning 3-1 by full-time in the FA Cup.

Two late goals sealed a 3-1 win at a depleted Crystal Palace before a strong display to draw 1-1 away at Man City. Last Sunday, they lost 1-0 to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final despite their opponents fielding a number of teenagers. In midweek, Conor Gallagher netted another late goal, this time to see off Leeds 3-2 in the FA Cup fifth round.

Chelsea Team News

Pochettino will be without Reece James and Benoit Badiashile at the back whilst Thiago Silva is doubtful. Both Levi Colwill and Ben Chilwell are set to be recalled. Cesare Casadei is available in midfield after being cup-tied in midweek.

Christopher Nkunku’s injury woes are persisting, and he has only a small chance of featuring. Cole Palmer and Conor Gallagher will return to the XI. Mykhailo Mudryk scored vs Leeds and could start in preference to Raheem Sterling.

Chelsea Motivation

The side looked tired and unmotivated against Leeds in midweek. Chelsea are just four points off the top seven and potentially qualifying for Europe.

The Blues will see an injury-hit Bees defence and fancy their chances of an away victory.

Key Stats

Brentford have lost 11 of their last 14 matches

Brentford have seen Over 2.5 goals in 7 of their last 9 EPL matches

Brentford have failed to score in their last 3 home matches vs Chelsea

Chelsea have lost 6 of their last 10 away fixtures (2 wins)

Chelsea have conceded 14 goals in their last 7 matches

Chelsea have conceded in their last 7 matches

Verdict

A lot will depend on Brentford’s lineup for this one. If they have a solid back-five, backing a double chance for the Bees could be wise. If they have a depleted and vulnerable backline, it could be without backing the Blues for a narrow win.

Best Bet: Brentford win/draw double chance at 1.71
Alternate Bet: Chelsea win at 2.15 (depending on the home starting XI)
Anytime Goalscorer Tip: Toney to score at 2.20 or Jackson to score at 2.70

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis