Chelsea vs Brentford LIVE: Premier League group information, line-ups and extra as Blues proceed title chase
Chelsea will look to keep up their pursuit of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League as they face fellow west London club Brentford in a rare Sunday night Premier League fixture.
A strong start under Enzo Maresca has seen the hosts establish themselves as perhaps the top flight’s form side and the likeliest to test Arne Slot’s league leaders until the end of the season. With Cole Palmer in sensational form and a young squad gelling impressively, their Italian manager may bat away suggestions his team are in the title race but their candidacy as challengers is hard to refute.
There will be wariness, though, of the threat that Brentford pose. While their outstanding home form has rather been undermined by a woeful record on the road, a short trip to Stamford Bridge should provide fewer challengers and a chance to continue climbing the table in a condensed group of clubs in the top half.
Follow all of the latest from Stamford Bridge, plus updates from Southampton vs Tottenham, in our live blog below:
Chelsea vs Brentford
Match facts
Brentford are the highest Premier League scorers in home games this term (26), but only Southampton (4) have scored fewer on the road than the Bees (5).
Frank’s side have scored 31 and conceded 28 goals in the Premier League this season. Should they concede twice against Chelsea, they will be just the second side to reach both 30 goals scored and conceded in their opening 16 matches of a season in the competition, after Leeds United in 2020-21.
Wissa’s goal against Newcastle last time out was his 35th in the Premier League, just one behind Brentford’s record goalscorer in the competition (Ivan Toney with 36).
Mbeumo has scored nine Premier League goals for Brentford this season, his joint-most in a single campaign (also 9 in both 2022-23 and 2023-24). No Cameroonian has ever scored 10 goals in a single campaign in the competition.
Frank: “I expect an interesting game”
In his conference, Brentford boss Thomas Frank said that Chelsea “are maybe the best team in the Premier League right now.
“They are maybe even more in form than Liverpool, even though they are top of the league. They are playing incredible football and are well coached.
“[Enzo] Maresca has done a top job so far with his coaching staff and they look extremely dangerous. They have so many threats going forward and have top-quality players all over the pitch.”
He added that the Bess requested to move the game due to their upcoming match in the Carabao Cup, but added: “We are proud of being in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals and we know the European sides are playing more games.
“It’s just how we make it fair for all clubs in the EFL Cup to have the same amount of days to rest and recover.”
Match facts
Chelsea have won each of their last four Premier League games, and the last three while scoring three or more goals in each. Only once before in the Blues’ history have they scored 3+ goals in four successive top-flight matches, doing so in November/December 1954.
Despite being the highest scorers in the Premier League this season with 35 goals, Chelsea have scored almost twice as many of these away from home (23) as they have at Stamford Bridge (12).
Cole Palmer has been involved in 38 Premier League goals in 2024 (25 goals, 13 assists), more than any other player.
Jadon Sancho has scored in his last two Premier League games – he last scored in three consecutive top-flight appearances in February 2021 while at Borussia Dortmund.
Maresca: “Hopefully soon we can be there”
Enzo Maresca once again insisted his side are not in the race for the title, saying that “you can smell and feel it. This is probably the reason why I say we’re not ready because we don’t feel that in this moment.
“We will need our fans behind us because I have a feeling it will be a very tough game. It could be a game decided on a tiny difference,” he said, adding that Brentford “are quite complicated” to play against.
He was full of praise for Cole Palmer and his personality too, saying: “Many big players are that way. They almost look like they don’t care about anything, but for sure they care and being that way gives them freedom to relax.
“You don’t need to waste energy to convince him that he has to be a different way because he’s behaving the exact way he should. He loves football. He is one of the first out with the ball [in training].”
Match facts
Chelsea won their first Premier League meeting with Brentford but are since winless in their last five against them (D2 L3), with all three defeats coming at Stamford Bridge.
Brentford have won all three of their Premier League away games against Chelsea. The last team to win four consecutive top-flight away games against the Blues were Leeds United (6 between 1973 and 1991).
None of the six Premier League meetings between Chelsea and Brentford have been won by the home side (D2 L4).
Head-to-head
These two sides first met in 1935, though they have only faced off a total of 21 times. Overall, Chelsea have won 10, Brentford have won seven, and four have ended as draws.
Last season, the Bees beat Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge, before the two sides played out a 2-2 draw at the Gtech.
Virgil van Dijk picks out title rivals Liverpool must beware: ‘They have the quality’
Manager Enzo Maresca has spent all season claiming they are not in the title race but Liverpool captain Van Dijk believes they are, as he referenced the talent in the ranks at Stamford Bridge and the depth of their expensive squad.
