Brentford vs Chelsea – Match preview and team news

The Football Faithful

·6 de abril de 2025

Brentford vs Chelsea – Match preview and team news

Brentford welcome Chelsea to the Gtech Community Stadium for a West London derby this Sunday.

The Bees will be looking to bounce back following their away defeat to Newcastle during the week.

OneFootball Videos

Manager Thomas Frank has suggested that Rico Henry could be included in the squad to face the Blues. The Englishman gained some valuable minutes in a recent Brentford B match against Fleetwood Town U21’s. Since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in 2023, the Englishman has struggled to reach the heights that saw him being linked with a maiden England call-up.

"We want to end as high as possible. We want to get a home win. We believe in ourselves and I think we are in a very good place" 💬 Thomas Frank looks ahead to #BRECHE tomorrow
– sábado, 5 de abril de 2025

Aaron Hickey and Gustavo Nunes also participated in that fixture, but are considered to be slightly behind Henry in their recovery schedules.

Danish duo Mathias Jensen and Mikkel Damsgaard are also expected to be fit and raring to go for the weekend’s action. Jensen missed the trip to Newcastle through illness while Damsgaard was only able to be named as a substitute.

Chelsea earned a huge three points in their pursuit of Champions League football in midweek as they overcame Tottenham Hotspur.

Wesley Fofana was absent from Thursday night’s victory after suffering another injury setback. The club confirmed on Saturday that the former Leicester defender had undergone surgery on a damaged hamstring. It is currently unknown whether the Frenchman will appear before the conclusion of the season.

Romeo Lavia has also been plagued by muscular issues this term and is unavailable for the weekend, although the 21-year-old is expected to feature again before the end of the campaign.

Brentford vs Chelsea – Match preview and team news

Form

Brentford: WDLWL

Brentford’s inconsistences continued in midweek as they fell to a narrow defeat to Newcastle.

Thomas Frank’s side have struggled to string multiple positive results together all season and fortune wasn’t in their favour on Wednesday.

Since the turn of the calendar year, the Bees have picked up an equal amount of wins and losses with five of each.

Despite this, they are comfortably sat in 12th position in the Premier League. Another season of top-flight football surely awaits the West Londoners next season.

Chelsea: WWWLW

Enzo Maresca and his players picked up their fifth consecutive home league win at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.

Enzo Fernandez’s header was the difference as fierce rivals Tottenham were on the receiving end of a hostile atmosphere.

It was also their third clean sheet out of their last four league outings, an encouraging indication of their recent defensive solidity.

Another triumph this afternoon would take the Blues within two points of third-placed Nottingham Forest, who lost yesterday.

However, the bitter taste of defeat would give Newcastle and Manchester City the opportunity to usurp them in the table.

Last Meeting: Chelsea 2-1 Brentford, Premier League, 15th December 2024

Chelsea prevailed against their West London rivals back in December thanks to a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues entered the match with realistic ambitions for the Premier League title. A run of six wins and two draws in the competition left them in touching distance of league leaders Liverpool.

Just before half-time, Enzo Maresca’s outfit gained the advantage. Noni Madueke’s deep delivery was attacked by Marc Cucurella, who used his momentum to power a header past Mark Flekken.

In the second period, Brentford were offered a reprieve by Nicolas Jackson’s wastefulness. The chance arose from Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho, who had skilfully got to the by-line before picking out the Senegalese striker. With the goal gaping, Jackson got his finish all wrong and ended up launching the ball comfortably over the target.

The visitors grew into the contest and their captain Christian Norgaard tested Robert Sanchez with an improvised volley.

Minutes after that highlight, Fabio Carvalho smashed the woodwork from close quarters. The goalkeeper was well and truly beaten, but the former Liverpool man applied too much force and the effort struck the underside of the crossbar.

Brentford were made to rue their missed chances as Jackson atoned for his earlier miss. Enzo Fernandez played the forward through, and the 23-year-old caught the goalkeeper out with a low and precise finish.

Thomas Frank’s side halved the deficit in the 90th minute with Bryan Mbeumo coolly slotting into the bottom corner. However, the timing of the winger’s goal rendered it immaterial.

Peter Bankes blew his whistle for the final time to signal three points for Chelsea. Tensions boiled over in the aftermath and Cucurella was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for his involvement in the altercations.

Predicted Lineups

Brentford: Flekken; Ajer, Collins, Van den Berg, Lewis-Potter; Norgaard, Janelt; Mbeumo, Damsgaard, Schade; Wissa.

Chelsea: Sanchez; James, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella; Fernandez, Caicedo; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson.

Who is the referee?

Michael Oliver will be the match official. Lee Betts and Dan Cook will assist him while Lewis Smith will be the fourth official. The VAR will be Stuart Attwell and he will be assisted by Mark Scholes.