Evening Standard
·13 December 2024
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·13 December 2024
Bees face difficult task to reverse dreadful away record
Thomas Frank has been impressed with Chelsea this season
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Brentford boss Thomas Frank believes Chelsea are the best team in the Premier League ahead of Sunday's London derby at Stamford Bridge.
Enzo Maresca's men go into the game on the back of six straight wins in all competitions and having narrowed the gap on leaders Liverpool to four points.
"They 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," said Frank.
"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.
"I expect an unbelievably difficult game. They are massive favourites but, of course, we believe that we can compete against anyone and we believe we can win."
Brentford have every reason to approach the game with confidence having bounced back from defeat at Aston Villa to beat Newcastle 4-2 last week.
And the Bees head into the game with an injury boost as both Kristoffer Ajer and Vitaly Janelt have been passed fit to face Maresca's side.
Janelt missed last week's win over the Magpies while Ajer returned on the bench after spending six weeks on the sidelines with a foot injury.
However, Mathias Jensen (hamstring) and Gustavo Nunes (back) both face further weeks on the sidelines.
Additional reporting from PA
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