Chelsea have only played London derbies in their Premier League campaign so far and that continues as they host Brentford in their fourth game of the season on Saturday. A goalless draw against Crystal Palace was followed with a 5-1 win away to West Ham and then a 2-0 win at home against Fulham.
Enzo Maresca's side are second in the table, in line with early-season predictions of a title challenge. However, the club are facing 74 charges brought about by the Football Association, although it was Chelsea's current owners who self-reported financial irregularities regarding agent payments that took place in the Roman Abramovich era.
Ahead of the international break, the club's forward line was boosted through the deadline day acquisition of Alejandro Garnacho from Manchester United, a necessity after Liam Delap's injury and Nicolas Jackson moving to Bayern Munich on loan. There is some concern for the club as Dário Essugo and Moisés Caicedo both reportedly picked up knocks during the international break, though the latter might be fit to play. Cole Palmer has teased a return to training on his social media, but might only be fit enough for the bench.
Brentford, meanwhile, said goodbye to wantaway striker Yoanne Wissa, who moved on deadline day to Newcastle United in a £55 million ($74.6m) deal. With Igor Thiago scoring three in his last four games for the club, Keith Andrews has earmarked the Brazilian as Wissa's replacement, but added to his attacking options by bringing in Reiss Nelson on a season-long loan from Arsenal.
Andrews, who was promoted from set-piece coach after Thomas Frank left for Spurs in the summer, has had a mixed start in charge of Brentford, defeating Aston Villa and Bournemouth (EFL Cup), but losing to Nottingham Forest and then Sunderland. Brentford have never beaten Chelsea at home in the Premier League, although they have three wins in the last seven games between the pair -- all at Stamford Bridge.
Here's everything you need to know ahead of the game.
How to watch:
The match will be available on Sky Sports in the U.K., NBC in the United States, Stan Sport in Australia, and JioHotstar in India. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Key Details:
Date: Saturday, September 13, 8 p.m. BST (3 p.m. ET; 12:30 a.m. IST, Sunday and 5 a.m. AEST, Sunday).
Venue: Gtech Community Stadium, Brentford
Referee: Stuart Atwell
VAR: James Bell
Team news:
Brentford
Gustavo Nunes, F: hamstring, doubt
Vitaly Janelt, M: heel, est. return late-Sep
Yunus Konak, M: ankle, est. return mid-Sep
Chelsea
Cole Palmer, M: groin, doubt
Moisés Caicedo, M: knock, doubt
Benoît Badiashile, D: leg, OUT, est. return mid-Sep
Dário Essugo, M: thigh, est. return late-Nov
Liam Delap, F: hamstring, est. return mid-Nov
Levi Colwill, D: ACL, OUT, est. late-Apr
Romeo Lavia, M: strain, doubt
Expected Lineups:
Brentford
GK: Caoimhín Kelleher
RB: Michael Kayode | CB: Sepp van den Berg | CB: Nathan Collins | LB: Keane Lewis-Potter
CM: Yehor Yarmoliuk | CM: Jordan Henderson
RW: Dango Ouattara | CAM: Mikkel Damsgaard | LW: Reiss Nelson
CF: Igor Thiago
Chelsea
GK: Robert Sánchez
RB: Malo Gusto | CB: Wesley Fofana | CB: Tosin Adarabioyo | LB: Marc Cucurella
CM: Moisés Caicedo | CM: Andrey Santos
RW: Estêvão | CAM: Enzo Fernández | LW: Pedro Neto
CF: João Pedro
Stats:
Brentford's last victory over Chelsea at home came in 1938, in the first division.
The home side has come out victorious only once in the last eight meeting between the two clubs.
Chelsea have kept nine clean sheets in their last 15 Premier League games, the most of any top-flight side since this run began in February 2025.
Since the start of last season, only Mo Salah (24) has made more assists than Enzo Fernandez (18) in all competitions among Premier League players.
Igor Thiago leads the league in high-intensity pressures this season - both in the opposition half (132), and the final third (88).
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