Liam Rosenior will take charge of his first Premier League game as a manager, as his Chelsea side host surging Brentford in an intriguing west London derby on Saturday.
WATCH — Chelsea v Brentford
The Blues have slumped to just one win in their last nine in the Premier League, taking them from title contenders to top four hopefuls. At the very best. But despite several first team stars missing through injury, Rosenior’s side did push Arsenal all the way in a 3-2 defeat in the first leg of their League Cup semifinal on Wednesday and still have a decent chance of reaching the final.
Brentford have been in superb form under first-year manager Keith Andrews, with the Bees enjoying a tremendous festive period and they are legit contenders for European qualification. Nobody would’ve predicted that after their mass exodus this summer. Brentford beat Sunderland 3-0 last time out and are unbeaten in six league games (winning four of those), with Brazilian goal-machine Igor Thiago leading their charge.
For live updates and highlights throughout Chelsea vs Brentford, check out PST’s live blog coverage below.
How to watch Chelsea vs Brentford live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 10am ET Saturday (January 17)
Venue: Stamford Bridge — West London
TV Channel: Peacock
Streaming: Stream live on Peacock
Chelsea team news, focus
Rosenior is hopeful that Reece James and Cole Palmer will be fit to return after they missed the midweek defeat to Arsenal. Jamie Gittens and Liam Delap are both aiming to recover from illness, while the influential Moises Caicedo will come back in to midfield after being suspended. Alejandro Garnacho scored twice in midweek against Arsenal and will likely start on the left with Pedro Neto on the right and Joao Pedro through the middle.
Brentford team news, focus
Jordan Henderson and Dango Ouattara are both pushing to feature with the former struggling with a knock to his foot, while the latter is being eased back in after AFCON duty. Thiago and Kevin Schade have been sensational in attack and Brentford will get them the ball early and often to cause havoc.
Chelsea vs Brentford prediction
This feels like it will be a really entertaining, close game with plenty of goals. Chelsea’s attacking power will make the difference in the end. Chelsea 3-2 Brentford.