Brentford vs Chelsea: How to Watch, Betting Odds & Prediction

(Featured image: Alamy Images)

Written by: Jamie Terry

Brentford are set to host West London rivals Chelsea on Saturday afternoon as both sides look to bounce back from damaging defeats last time out. 

The hosts suffered a 4-2 away defeat to West Ham whereas Chelsea suffered heartbreak in the Carabao Cup Final when a late Virgil van Dijk header secured the trophy for Liverpool.

How to Watch Brentford vs Chelsea in the UK:

The match is not being shown live on the UK. Highlights of the game will however be available on the Sky Sports YouTube channel shortly after full-time. 

Team News:

Ruled out for Brentford: Joshua Da Silva (knee), Rico Henry (knee), Aaron Hickey (thigh), Kevin Schade (groin), Ethan Pinnock (ankle), Bryan Mbuemo (ankle). Centre-back Ben Mee is being assessed ahead of the Chelsea match. 

Ruled out for Chelsea: Wesley Fofana (knee), Christopher Nkunku (unknown), Reece James (thigh), Benoit Badiashile (hip), Carney Chukwuemeka (ankle), Romeo Lavia (thigh), Marc Cucurella (ankle), Lesley Ugochukwu (thigh). 

Recent Form:

Thomas Frank's side have scored in nine of their last ten league games but have only went on to win two, losing the other eight. While Bees have lost five out of their previous six league games, they have faced Manchester City twice, Liverpool and Tottenham during this period. 

News of Everton's initial ten-point deduction being reduced to six, which lifted the Merseysiders above Brentford prior to their match with West Ham, was only compounded by a 4-2 away loss at the London Stadium. The Bees sit in 16th place heading into the West London derby. 

The poor run of form has however left Brentford in danger of getting dragged into a relegation battle if they don't begin to put points on the board. The return of striker Ivan Toney has been welcomed with the Englishman bagging four goals in his first seven games back. 

Chelsea, or the now infamously-named “Blue Billion-Pound Bottlejobs” showed their mental resolve on Wednesday night, battling back from 1-0 down against an in-form Leeds side to win 3-2 at Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup. 

Their defensive fragility away from home however was one of the reasons behind Chelsea's disappointing 11th-place position in the Premier League. Mauricio Pochettino’s men haven’t kept a clean sheet on the road since the 2-0 win over Fulham on October 2nd nearly five months ago.

Chelsea’s away form has improved significantly recently though. In their last three away games before the Cup final defeat, the Blues had gained seven out of a maximum nine points in all competitions, defeating both Aston Villa and Crystal Palace before gaining a deserved 1-1 draw against last season’s treble winners Manchester City.

Betting Odds:

Brentford head into the match slight underdogs, with UniBet offering the home side at 11/5 (implied probability of 31.25%). 

888Sport back Chelsea to bank their second win of the week following their triumph over Leeds, offering the Blues at 6/5 with an implied probability of 45.45%.

Prediction: 

Chelsea have repeatedly struggled against teams that allow them to have possession and play on the counter-attack. Losses to Nottingham Forest, Everton, West Ham, Wolves, and Brentford themselves all come against teams ranked in the bottom half of the table when it comes to possession of the ball. 

OddsNow expect this theme to continue on Saturday afternoon with Brentford bouncing back from the West Ham loss with a much-needed win over their West London counterparts. 

OddsNow's Pick: Brentford to win with BTTS (3.9/1 @ BetMGM)

 

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