Enzo Maresca doesn’t want Chelsea to get too far ahead of themselves with thoughts of the Premier League title, even if his side has won four in a row and sits 2nd in the table heading into Sunday’s west London derby against Brentford at Stamford Bridge.
WATCH LIVE — Chelsea vs Brentford
The Blues (31 points) are now just four points behind Liverpool after the leaders had their game against Everton postponed last weekend, but Chelsea still had to go out the next day and beat Tottenham — which they did, overcoming an early 2-0 deficit for a 4-3 away win — to stay two points above Arsenal in 3rd. Cole Palmer scored twice in the game, taking his tally to 33 goals and 17 assists (50 goal involvements) in 48 games for Chelsea. Alas, Maresca wants nothing to do with title talk at this time, and rightly so. “I am quite ambitious, and the players and the club are ambitious, but if you think about things in four or five months then you can lose a bit of focus on the now,” he warned this week.
Maresca should be pleased to have the Bees at home this weekend, as Thomas Frank’s side has the best home record in the PL this season (7W-1D-0L) while scoring at will (26 goals in 8 games). On the flip side, the Bees have the joint-worst away record in the PL this season (0W-1D-6L) and often struggle to locate the goal, let alone put the ball in it (5 goals in 7 games). With just a handful of points away from home, Brentford (9th place – 23 points) would be sitting in a European spot as two points is all that separates them from Nottingham Forest in 5th. With Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa, Igor Thiago and Kevin Schade all rounding into form together, Brentford’s potent attack could singlehandedly elevate them from the rest of the pack — if they can start picking up results away from home.
How to watch Chelsea vs Brentford live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 2 pm ET, Sunday (December 15)
Venue: Stamford Bridge — London
TV Channel: USA Network
Streaming: Watch live on NBC.com
Chelsea team news, focus
OUT: Pedro Neto (suspension), Reece James (hamstring), Wesley Fofana (hamstring), Omari Kellyman (thigh) | QUESTIONABLE: Mykhailo Mudryk (illness)
Brentford team news, focus
OUT: Josh Dasilva (knee), Rico Henry (knee), Aaron Hickey (thigh), Mathias Jensen (hamstring) | QUESTIONABLE: Vitaly Janelt (undisclosed)
Chelsea vs Brentford prediction
Brentford attempt a PL-low 7.6 shots per game away from home, while facing a PL-high 22.3 shots per game (5 more than any other side). Chelsea might have 40 shots in this game. Chelsea 4-1 Brentford.