English Premier
2026-01-17 - Chelsea vs Brentford
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 17th January 2025 - Kick Off 3pm
Chelsea
They may have lost the battle, but the war is far from over as far as Chelsea are concerned after another goal helped them pull Arsenal back in a 2-3 League Cup Semi Final First Leg defeat. With no away goals to worry about, Liam Rosenior has to believe his side will be in much better shape when the Second Leg is played in early February.
At the moment the new manager is trying to manage minutes of those in the squad, while also dealing with a long injury list ahead of some big matches to be played. This weekend the attention is back on the Premier League with Chelsea in 8th place in the standings, but just 4 points behind Liverpool in the top four. The Blues have an inconsistent 4-3-3 record at Stamford Bridge and there is a feeling the players are finding it difficult to produce in front of the home fans.
Chelsea have not won any of the last 5 Premier League games played and the sole win in the last 7 fixtures has been at The Valley in the FA Cup Third Round against lower League opposition. The players showed some character and spirit in the defeat to Arsenal during the week, but that does mean Chelsea have won 1 of the last 5 at home in all competitions.
Reece James, Malo Gusto and Cole Palmer were all sitting out on Wednesday having failed to overcome fitness issues and all are potentially doubtful for this fixture. Adding to that is illness which meant Jamie Gittens and Liam Delap were also not involved last time out and both will need to be assessed, but Moises Caicedo is available after serving a ban.
Brentford
The FA Cup represents a chance for Brentford to give the fans something to get excited about in the second half of the season and the team have been given what looks to be a kind Fourth Round draw, as long as they take it more seriously than Crystal Palace did at Macclesfield. However, the fans also have to be getting quite giddy about the current Brentford position in the Premier League and it is up to Keith Andrews to keep the players focused on each game as it comes.
A strong run of form has taken Brentford up into 5th place in the Premier League table and the fans are once again thinking about whether to dust off the passports and prepare for a maiden European adventure. For now The Bees will only be concentrating on keeping the positive results coming and they make the short journey across West London with a 3-0-7 away record.
Brentford were beaten in the League Cup Quarter Final at Manchester City, but have responded with a 6 game unbeaten run in all competitions and have won 5 of those fixtures played. They were comfortable winners at Hillsborough last weekend in the FA Cup Third Round and Brentford have also won the last 2 away League games at Wolves and Everton.
Dango Outtara is back from the African Cup of Nations and should be involved, although Jordan Henderson is a slight doubt.
Head to Head
These teams played out a 2-2 draw at the Gtech Community Stadium earlier this season in what was a topsy-turvy fixture.
Brentford upset the odds in 3 straight years at Stamford Bridge after earning a return to the top Division, but that run was snapped last season as Chelsea won 2-1 here.
Prediction
Liam Rosenior may be learning on the job when it comes to managing a club with the size and expectations of Chelsea, but he will be hoping the fans have some patience.
In his first home game in charge, Rosenior would have heard the boos from the stands even though his Chelsea team showed fight and character without several key players.
Some of those could be available this weekend and that will certainly help the new manager, but Rosenior will also want to see his team avoid the mistakes that led to two of the three Arsenal goals on Wednesday night.
The goalkeeper was particularly poor, but Robert Sanchez remains first choice for Chelsea and he may have a bit more protection with the likes of Malo Gusto and Moises Caicedo expected to return. Reece James and Cole Palmer are more doubtful, but Chelsea should have a few more options for this West London derby as they look to get back on track in the Premier League.
Some will consider this fixture against Brentford as coming at a poor time, but The Bees are still a team that have struggled for consistency away from home. Impressive wins at Wolves and Everton will have helped the confidence and Dango Outtara is back from the African Cup of Nations, but this is another tough test away from the Gtech Community Stadium.
It has been a streaky Premier League season with teams running into unexpected form and that is the feeling around this Brentford team.
They are creating a lot of positive moments in the final third and Igor Thiago is in incredible goal-scoring form, but Brentford are still somewhat vulnerable at the back.
Prior to last season, Brentford had really enjoyed visits to Stamford Bridge having put 3 straight wins on the board at this Stadium, but that run was snapped thirteen months ago and there is still enough in this Chelsea squad to believe they can bounce back from recent results.
Chelsea continue to create a lot of chances and this could be a high-scoring game edged by the home team.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Chelsea 2-1 Brentford
