English Premier
2024-12-15 - Chelsea vs Brentford
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 15th December 2024 - Kick Off 7pm
Chelsea
Enzo Maresca made the decision to have a separate Chelsea Cup team and not use the key players that were important to keep fresh for the Premier League. It has worked pretty well for the club and Chelsea's young squad made the long trip to Astana in the Conference League and worked their way to a comfortable win.
There is one more match to play in the Conference League before Chelsea can put that to the back burner until March, but the focus this weekend is trying to keep pace with Premier League leaders Liverpool. Results last time out has seen Chelsea move into 2nd place in the table and 4 points behind Liverpool, albeit with the latter having a game in hand to play. The Blues have a 3-3-1 record at Stamford Bridge and that will need to be improved if they are going to mount a credible title challenge.
Chelsea are unbeaten in 9 games in all competitions and they have won 6 in a row heading into this West London derby. They were comfortable 3-0 winners in their last Premier League game at Stamford Bridge, but Chelsea have not won consecutive home League fixtures this season.
Pedro Neto is suspended and both Reece James and Wesley Fofana are expected to miss around another month of action.
Brentford
We continue to see a ruthless Brentford team scoring goals for fun at the Gtech Community Stadium, but one that not been able to take that form with them when they have had to travel in the Premier League. Thomas Frank will know that improving the results away from home may just help Brentford challenge for a berth in European Football for the first time if they can maintain the form shown in their own Stadium.
The Bees are 9th in the Premier League table, but 22 of their 23 points earned this season have been at the Gtech Community Stadium. Only Chelsea have scored more goals than Brentford in the League, but the majority of the Brentford goals have been at home with just 5 scored in their 0-1-6 away run.
Brentford have lost 1 of their last 5 Premier League games and they have won 3 of those matches. The side did earn their first away point at Everton at the end of last month, but Brentford have since been beaten 3-1 at Aston Villa.
Vitaly Janelt is hoping to be available, but Mathias Jensen is set to miss the next three fixtures.
Head to Head
Brentford picked up four points against Chelsea in the Premier League last season.
The majority were earned in their 0-2 win at Stamford Bridge and Brentford have won all 3 Premier League games played at this Stadium.
Prediction
The manager may insist his team are not a title challenger, but the Chelsea fans will be dreaming about seeing their team pick up that trophy in May.
Coming from 2-0 down to beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-4 last weekend will have just increased the confidence, but Chelsea now need to see if they can put a winning run together with a good looking fixture list ahead.
First things first is finding a way to beat Brentford at home for the first time in the Premier League.
They might not be the biggest rival to Chelsea in West London, but Brentford have got the tactics right in winning 3 games at Stamford Bridge since being promoted back to the top flight. All of those wins have been by comfortable margins so the home team will have to respect Brentford, even if Thomas Frank's team have shown little away form this season.
This clearly a team that knows where the goal is at home, and Brentford have taken the lead at the Etihad Stadium and Old Trafford this season. They also scored first at Tottenham Hotspur, but the defensive numbers have been below average wherever Brentford have played.
Ultimately they have outscored teams at home, but have struggled to stay competitive when playing on their travels and that is hard to ignore.
Chelsea have not won consecutive home Premier League games this season, which is really surprising considering they are 2nd in the table, but they can do that this weekend. With Cole Palmer and the attacking players in the form they are in, Chelsea might find their way to eventually ease past a local rival that has caused more problems for them than expected in recent seasons.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Chelsea 3-1 Brentford
