Brentford FC
·12 de diciembre de 2024
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Yahoo sportsBrentford FC
·12 de diciembre de 2024
Analysis, team news, match officials and more. Here's everything you need to know ahead of the game.
Brentford's clash against Chelsea promises to be a cracker, as it pits the Bees against the only side to score more Premier League goals than them this season.
Thomas Frank's side have a 100 per cent winning record at Stamford Bridge since their promotion to the top flight in 2021, but Chelsea currently sit second in the table and have gained momentum this season under former Leicester City boss Enzo Maresca.
With 35 goals already this season, Chelsea are the most prolific team in the Premier League and - much like Brentford this term - they have been devastating from open-play situations.
The Blues have scored 27 goals (77 per cent) of their goals from ‘live’ situations - and they are currently the only team in the top flight to score more in this phase of play than Brentford (24).
Although plenty of column inches have already been written about Cole Palmer, it is worth devoting a few more paragraphs to the undoubted orchestrator of Chelsea's attack.
A ridiculously cheeky panenka penalty in his side’s epic 4-3 win at Tottenham last weekend brought up Palmer's 50th Premier League goal involvement for Chelsea, and the 22-year-old has been sensational since moving to west London from Manchester City prior to the start of last season.
Palmer's aforementioned half-century of goal involvements consists of 33 goals and 17 assists, meaning he has been the most productive player in the Premier League since he joined Chelsea, which is some achievement given that Mo Salah (31 goals and 18 assists) and Erling Haaland (40 goals and six assists) trail in his wake.
Something of a throwback to playmakers of old, Palmer's ability to make difficult things look easy marks him as a special talent.
Although deployed as a No.10 on paper, Palmer can drop deep and spray killer passes - he currently leads the league for key passes (40) - or sprint into channels to pose a goal threat himself, and Brentford's task this Sunday is to get a handle on Chelsea's will-o'-the-wisp.
As Brentford head coach Frank will no doubt reinforce to his troops, however, the Bees have more than enough weapons at their disposal to cause Chelsea big problems.
Bryan Mbeumo (nine goals and two assists) and Yoane Wissa (nine goals and a single assist) both clicked into double figures for Premier League goal involvements after last weekend's 4-2 win over Newcastle, and Chelsea will have a job on their hands keeping them quiet.
High-quality chance creation and clinical finishing have been key to Brentford's prolific start to the campaign, and Mbeumo and Wissa have set the benchmark. Notably, both players have a goals/shot-on-target rate of 0.67 - which, in other words, means 67 per cent of their shots on target have rippled the back of the net.
Given the firepower both sides possess, it is easy to predict goals on Sunday. It will be fascinating, however, to see how Maresca and Frank set about trying to defuse the strengths, and exploit the weaknesses, of in-form opposition.
A semblance of normality returned to Stamford Bridge last season.
Having finished in the relatively unknown territory of 12th in 2022/23, despite much of the season camped in mid-table, under Mauricio Pochettino, Chelsea lost just one of their last 15 Premier League games to finish sixth and secure a return to European football after a rare season away.
With breakout star Cole Palmer at the heart of it all, they reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the final of the Carabao Cup, too.
“They're going to be much better next season,” Pochettino said after the final day win over Bournemouth. “They're going to have one year experience, tough experience. That's the advantage of being solid and consistent and not too many changes.”
Speculation swirled about the Argentine’s future towards the end of the season, amid rumours of tension behind the scenes and, on 21 May, his exit - by mutual consent - was announced. After Graham Potter, he was the second Blues manager in succession to last less than a year in the job.
Fresh from leading Leicester back to the top flight at the first time of asking, Enzo Maresca replaced him a fortnight later. “He is a highly-gifted coach and leader that we are confident can help fulfil our vision and competitive goals for the club,” said the club’s ownership group after handing the Italian a five-year deal.
The sale of homegrown talent Conor Gallagher to Atlético Madrid did not go down well, nor did the freezing out of Raheem Sterling, but Maresca likes to work with a far smaller squad than Chelsea are used to and he quickly set about making the necessary adjustments. The club had a net spend of around £30 million as a result, despite plenty of movement in the market.
What has happened since has shown that Pochettino’s prediction was absolutely right.
Let’s start with the Conference League. Maresca has often totally rotated his side in Europe, giving players like Renato Veiga, Mykhailo Mudryk and João Félix a chance to shine - and even the second string are far too strong for this competition.
They have won all four of their games so far, scoring 18 and conceding only three. Eight of those came in the 8-0 demolition of Armenian club Noah, which set a new record for the biggest win in the competition’s history.
They are out of the Carabao Cup but will fancy their chances of progression in the FA Cup given they face Morecambe, who are fighting for their lives at the bottom of League Two, in the third round next month.
Now, to the Premier League. In recent weeks, Maresca has made it clear he does not believe his side are in the title race. When pressed on the issue - which he has been many times since - he has been keen to stress the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City have more experience than his newly-constructed side.
But when they sit second in the table, as the joint-top goalscorers, with the third-best defensive record alongside Nottingham Forest going into the weekend, it is easy for even the most casual fan to disagree. Such a record so close to the midway point of the season is to be commended.
Maybe it is a mind game from Maresca, designed to ease pressure, but - though he is Pep Guardiola’s former assistant - he does not seem the type. It does not feel as though there is internal pressure anyway; success will come if they stay on the path they are on now.
If it is not the Premier League, a domestic or European trophy will certainly earn Maresca plenty of credit. The Conference League - which they are favourites for - would certainly do the trick.
But the fact Blues have been singing, “We’ve got our Chelsea back” is, arguably, the biggest success of all so far.
Enzo Maresca played in the academies of AC Milan and Cagliari in his native Italy before turning professional in 1998... with West Brom.
After a season-and-a-half at the Hawthorns, the midfielder signed for Juventus. He only played 37 league games for the club in four years, though, and spent time on loan at Bologna and Piacenza.
Maresca - a 15-time Italy Under-21 international - then spent time at Fiorentina, before joining Sevilla in 2005. It was in Spain that he spent the most successful years of his career. Across a four-year period, he won the UEFA Cup twice, the Copa del Rey, the Spanish Super Cup and the Super Cup.
He went on to play for Olympiacos, Malaga, Sampdoria, Palermo and Hellas Verona before retiring from professional football on his 37th birthday in February 2017 - and being appointed assistant at Ascoli four months later.
Less than a year after starting work as Man City's Elite Development Squad manager, Maresca was headhunted by Parma in May 2021, but he lasted only 14 games as head coach before being sacked. He later returned to City as Pep Guardiola's assistant, but departed again one year later to take up the vacant managerial position at Leicester.
In June 2024, after leading the Foxes to the Championship title, he was announced as the successor to Mauricio Pochettino on a five-year contract at Chelsea.
Bobby Vincent, Chelsea writer for football.london, explains why the Blues may be forced into a personnel change for Sunday's game against Brentford.
"In the last two Premier League games, we have seen Moisés Caicedo start as a right-back, but move into the middle of the pitch when Chelsea are in possession," Vincent said.
"This then sees the Blues go into, essentially, a back-three with Caicedo, Enzo Fernández and Roméo Lavia in the middle.
"However, it looks as if Lavia might be injured for the weekend, so we could see similar but with Malo Gusto in the Caicedo role instead."
Last Premier League starting XI v Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Sánchez; Caicedo, Badisashile, Colwill, Cucurella; Lavia, Fernández; Pedro Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson
Referee: Peter Bankes
Assistants: Ian Hussin and Nick Greenhalgh
Fourth official: Rob Jones
Video assistant referee: Matt Donohue
Peter Bankes will take charge of his first Brentford game of the season when he is the referee for Sunday's Premier League trip to Chelsea.
Bankes was the man in the middle for two Bees games last term, a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace at Gtech Community Stadium and a 2-1 loss at Brighton.
This season, he has refereed eight Premier League fixtures, as well as one in the Championship and two in the Carabao Cup, and has handed out 47 yellow cards and one red.
Brentford became the first-ever team to win their first three Premier League visits to Stamford Bridge with a 2-0 victory against Chelsea.
Ethan Pinnock powered in a header on 58 minutes after Bryan Mbeumo had hung the ball up to the back post.
Home goalkeeper Robert Sánchez went up for a late corner and after Neal Maupay had raced into Chelsea’s half, he passed the ball for Mbeumo to finish into an empty net.