Chelsea make the short trip across West London for their fourth derby of the season already when they face Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday.
Enzo Maresca’s men are yet to leave the capital this season, and familiar surroundings have served them well, as they start the weekend up in second.
Match preview
In a very rare occurrence that will see Chelsea play a fourth London derby after just four games, they return to action off the back of a controversial win over Fulham last time out.
Chelsea were 2-0 winners at Stamford Bridge, but there were two hugely contentious decisions that went in their favour at crucial points in the game, chalking off Fulham’s opener, and the awarding of a second-half penalty to the Blues.
Nevertheless, all that matters is that three points were added to the board, and it maintains Chelsea’s home unbeaten run in 2025 in the Premier League, where they have won nine and drawn three of their 12 matches.
It is also one of the strongest starts Chelsea have made in many years, because for just the second time in seven seasons, they have won at least two of their first three league games to begin a campaign.
A ninth clean sheet in 15 games, albeit in fortunate circumstances, was also much welcome for Maresca too, because defence has not been perceived as a strong point for Chelsea in recent times.
The visitors will hope they can continue their strong rearguard performances ahead of three away matches in a week, which will also see them go to Bayern Munich and Manchester United in the next eight days.
If the brief history of this fixture is anything to go by, then Chelsea should fancy themselves, because the home side on the day has only won one of the eight head-to-heads between the two.
Mikkel Damsgaard of Brentford celebrates scoring but has his goal later ruled out by VAR on August 23, 2025
All of Brentford’s three wins against Chelsea have come away from the Gtech, but they have also avoided defeat in three of their four clashes on home soil.
Manager Keith Andrews would happily take a draw in this one again though, after a difficult summer has led to a start that has seen the Bees lose two of their first three matches.
The worst possible scenario played out in front of Andrews last time out, as they squandered a lead late on to lose at Sunderland two weeks ago, going down to a 96th-minute Wilson Isidor winner, and then having no chance to put things right for a fortnight.
Brentford only lost two of their final 10 games last season under Thomas Frank, but many expected more of a struggle this time around after losing their manager, captain, goalkeeper and two top scorers, with Yoane Wissa the last of the bunch to leave, joining Newcastle United on deadline day.
Home form has often been important for the Bees, and after beating Aston Villa on gameweek two, they have now won three of their last four at the Gtech, but they have a devilishly difficult run of games here to come across the next five - facing Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Newcastle.
Brentford Premier League form:
Brentford form (all competitions):
Chelsea Premier League form:
Team News
Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer in August 2025.
Brentford lost Wissa, but added Reiss Nelson on deadline day, and the home crowd will hope he can get up to full fitness quickly, after playing no competitive minutes for Arsenal in August.
After failing to find the net in an injury-hit campaign last term, Igor Thiago already has three this time around, and will be the one to watch in attack for the hosts.
Vitaly Janelt missed Bosnia duty with a foot injury last week, but he has returned to training, and is further along in his recovery compared to the likes of Gustavo Nunes and Yunus Konak.
Cole Palmer has been in Chelsea training after missing the last two league games and the international window with England, but he remains doubtful ahead of this short trip across London.
The same can be said for Romeo Lavia and Benoit Badiashile, and Maresca said at the end of last month that both will be close to returning to the fold after the international break.
Liam Delap will be sidelined though after suffering a serious hamstring injury against Fulham, but there could be a Chelsea debut for summer signing Alejandro Garnacho, who has joined from Man United.
Brentford possible starting lineup:
Kelleher; Kayode, Collins, Van den Berg, Lewis-Potter; Yarmolyuk, Henderson, Damsgaard; Outtara, Igor Thiago, Schade
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Sanchez; Gusto, Tosin, Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, Enzo; Estevao, Pedro Neto, Garnacho; Joao Pedro
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We say: Brentford 0-1 Chelsea
No team has taken fewer shots in the league than Brentford (24), and Chelsea are in fine form defensively, so the hosts could struggle to break down the visiting backline, but the Blues have not looked convincing either.
Both of Chelsea’s home matches this season saw them fortunate not to lose, but they were convincing winners at West Ham, and another three points could follow, albeit in less emphatic fashion.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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