HP Terbaru 2023 – Chelsea face Brentford in West London Clash

---

By Alex Roberts

---

Three games into his tenure and this will be Liam Rosenior’s first Premier League game as Chelsea manager. We can’t really judge just yet, but he seems to be cut from the same cloth as Mikel Arteta, in the sense that they would both do really well on LinkedIn.

Keith Andrews, on the other hand, has proven a lot of people wrong. Brentford currently sit in fifth and are well and truly in that European football race. Perhaps Thomas Frank was holding them back after all!?

Can anyone stop Igor Thiago?

The big, bearded Brazilian has been so good this season he’s even got Erling Haaland quaking in his boots. 16 goals in his 21 Premier League games, five of which have come in Brentford’s last two, Thiago is in the form of his life.

He’s one of those strikers that doesn’t really do much other than score goals, but in the words of Roy Keane, “that’s his job.” In the 3-0 win over Sunderland, he had 14 touches in the opposition box, so his teammates clearly have faith that he can bring home the goods.

In his first couple of games, it’s clear that Rosenior wants to emphasise playing out of the back at Chelsea, something Enzo Maresca recognised may not be the wisest move during his final year at the club. Thiago’s 16 goals have come from an xG of 12.57, so he’s clinical enough to make them pay.

Returning to his old ways

Over the past year or so, Robert Sánchez has been a remarkably reliable goalkeeper for Chelsea, keeping them in games at times as Maresca played to his strengths. In the midweek 3-2 defeat to Arsenal, it looked like he had reverted back to his old ways.

Sánchez was caught in no man’s land for Arsenal’s first goal, something that simply cannot happen when trying to defend one of their infamous corners. He then failed to get his hands on Bukayo Saka’s low cross, allowing Viktor Gyökeres to score a rare goal.

There are certain player at Chelsea that will be hit by Maresca’s sacking and Rosenior’s appointment harder than others. Rosenior uses his goalkeepers in a unique way, requiring them to heavily participate in build-up. Whether that got into Sánchez’s head or not, we don’t know, but he needs to get used to it.

Team news

Rosenior confirmed that an illness has swept through his Chelsea side, hence why Liam Delap and Jamie Gittens didn’t feature in the defeat to Arsenal. It’s unlikely they’ll be risked against Brentford either.

The manager has confirmed that Reece James (hip) and Cole Palmer (thigh) are set to return after their little setbacks, although it remains to be seen whether they would be able to start. Malo Gusto (unspecified) could also make his comeback.

Levi Colwill (ACL) and Roméo Lavia (thigh) are both out with no sign of them coming back any time soon. We’re starting to question whether Lavia even exists at this point.

Turning to Brentford, Josh Dasilva, Fabio Carvalho, and Antoni Milambo are all out with long-term knee injuries, while Jordan Henderson (ankle) will have assessed before the game.

Dango Ouattara has returned from AFCON duty with Burkina Faso and is available for selection. Frank Onyeka will return shortly after Nigeria were knocked out by Morocco, but this game is too soon.

Prediction

Chelsea don’t have a great recent record against Brentford, in fact they’ve won just one of their last five meetings. So, we’re going with a 1-1 draw.

---

(Cover image from IMAGO)

---

You can follow every game from the Premier League with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.