Brentford – Chelsea : Preview & Prediction
An impressive 2-0 win over Brighton on Friday night saw Brentford end a run of three games without a win (E1, P2) and earn a place back in the top half of the Premier League (PL) table. They will now look to continue that run in this midweek fixture, although games of this nature have proven tricky for Thomas Frank’s side, as the Bees have failed to win in their last six midweek PL fixtures (E1, P5).
While goals were scarce for Brentford in their recent winless run, their two against Brighton took their total for the campaign to 18, which is six more than they scored at this point last season, a record surpassed by only four sides for the start of this matchday. Brentford will be hoping this bodes well for an end to their poor offensive form that has seen them go scoreless in four of their last six London derbies at home (G2, E2, P2).
Chelsea will be paying attention to this statistic as they have seven clean sheets in their last ten away games against London opponents (G7, E2, P1). They have also kept clean sheets in each of their last two PL games (G2), with the latest against Aston Villa resulting in praise from manager Graham Potter for goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who has had an up-and-down career with the club, recognizing him as a “world-class” player. Those two wins are part of a six-game unbeaten run (G5, E1) by Potter since taking the reins as Blues coach last month.
This fixture had an interesting trend last season which saw the away side win all three official meetings between the two clubs (Chelsea: G2, P1). As such, confidence will be high that Potter can become just the eighth PL manager to win his first four PL games in charge of a club, and interestingly, four of the previous seven have been Chelsea’s.
Players to watch: Thanks to his brace during Friday, Ivan Toney has scored 44% of Brentford’s total goals in PL – that’s the second-highest percentage for any player in the competition. Mason Mount has been adaptable to Potter’s strategies, recording five contributions on goal in his last three competitive games for Chelsea (two goals, three assists).
Standout Fact: No PL team has conceded fewer away goals after halftime this season than Chelsea (one).
Brentford – Chelsea : Betting Tips
Chelsea – Win Odds: 1.75
