Chelsea will be looking to carry their new-found momentum into Saturday’s Premier League opener against Brentford at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues could not hold on for a win last time out as Arsenal came from two goals down to draw 2-2 but signs of improvement were evident for Mauricio Pochettino, who has overseen a four-game unbeaten run in all competitions after a dismal start. to the campaign.
Thomas Frank’s Bees picked up their first win since August when they comfortably beat Burnley 3-0 and will look to their good performance against Chelsea for inspiration when they kick things off on Saturday.
Here is a 90-minute preview of the meeting.
Current form (all competitions)
Country
Live TV channel/stream
Britain
TNT Sports 1, Discovery+, TNT Sports Ultimate, Discovery+ App
USA
UNIVERSO NOW, UNIVERSO, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, USA Network, NBC Sports App, nbcsports.com
Canada
fuboTV Canada
James returned for 2-2 draw with Arsenal / Marc Atkins / GettyImages
Chelsea’s injury worries have eased in recent weeks, with the return of Reece James bolstering a previously hectic-looking defence.
Cole Palmer, Mykhailo Mudryk and Raheem Sterling have established themselves as Pochettino’s favorite strikers. The Blues are without several key players though, with Wesley Fofana, Christopher Nkunku, Ben Chilwell, Romeo Lavia and Armando Broja all unavailable.
Carney Chukwuemeka, who has not played since scoring in the 3-1 defeat to West Ham, and Trevoh Chalobah, who could leave the club in January due to a lack of playing time, are both doubts.
Chelsea predicted lineup against Brentford (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; James, Silva, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Palmer, Gallagher, Mudryk; Sterling.
Hickey is available again after serving suspension / Quality Sport Images/GettyImages
Brentford picked up their second league win of the season last season but are without any key first-team players.
Ivan Toney remains suspended while Rico Henry, Kevin Schade, Josh Dasilva, Mikkel Damsgaard, Shandon Baptiste and Keane Lewis-Potter will all take no part in the trial at Stamford Bridge.
However, Aaron Hickey is available again after serving a ban for collecting five yellow cards and could replace Kristoffer Ajer at the back.
Brentford predicted lineup against Chelsea (4-3-3): Flekken; Roerslev, Collins, Pinnock, Hickey; Onyeka, Norgaard, Jensen; Mbeumo, Maupay, Wissa.
Chelsea are still struggling with injuries in the squad but their starting line-up is as determined as it has been for the past year or so, with dynamic midfielders and forwards implementing Pochettino’s tactics to improve results.
The disappointment of drawing with Arsenal was palpable but the Blues should not let this result put them off and will have to aim for all three points with tough games coming up in November and December.
Brentford eased the tension at the Gtech Community Stadium with the win last time out, but the team’s absences are more significant in relative terms and they could be in for a tough match.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Brentford READ OTHER Premier League PREDICTIONS for 90 min.