On paper, it seems like one of Chelsea’s easiest games of the season. Conte will take advantage of that and line up a squad composed mostly of players who need to spend more time on the pitch or who need to prove themselves so as not to be sent away on loan. Dean Smith on the other hand will throw everything he has at Chelsea as this is probably his last chance to make something of this season. A win this Saturday would be just as good as reaching the Championship’s top 5.

The game is set to begin at 3:00 PM with Chelsea expected to get off to a fast start. Brentford’s Scott Hogan will be the man to watch as he is the team’s leading scorer with 14 games in 26 matches. All the other teammates are miles away with just 3 goals to follow. The interesting thing is that Brentford uses the same layout as Chelsea so we will get to see how the Blues do against the same 3-5-2 formation Conte uses.

Squad Updates

Chelsea shouldn’t have any restrictions as all the usual substitutes are expected to be on the pitch. Begovic will also be featured in the game despite being days away from a transfer away from Stamford Bridge.

Brentford also have a complete squad but might surprise everyone by leaving Hogan out due to his rumored desire to leave and join West Ham.

Head to Head

Surprisingly the two clubs have met pretty recently. Chelsea did need a replay to knock Brentford out of 2013’s FA Cup.

The Blues lost to the Bees back in 1939 and since then won 4 games and drew once.

We predict an easy win for Chelsea who should benefit from the substitutes’ desire to prove themselves and from Brentford’s lack of defensive organization which has seen them concede 35 goals this season while managing to score only 34. We see a 3-1 win for Chelsea.