Brentford and Chelsea go meet today for Gtech Community Stadium for di West London derby, as matchday five of Premier League dey land. Kickoff na 21:00, and DAZN go show di game. Di match go determine immediate future for both teams for table.
Before kickoff, Chelsea dey sixth for Premier League table with 7 points, one point ahead of Brentford wey dey seventh with 6 points. Brentford no lose any game yet for league, with one win and three draws. Chelsea form don shake: dem win four from six matches for all competitions, but dem lose to Arsenal and draw at home against newly promoted Hull.
Brentford summer business spread money across Malick Diouf, Jannik Schuster, Jaidon Anthony and Mamadou Sangaré, around £110m total. Callum Wilson join free, so all lines of team don get reinforcement. Sangaré start like Premier League veteran; he adapt well and give Bees midfield drive, recovery, and passes wey break lines. No surprise if Champions League clubs ask for am next summer when price don double.
Chelsea spend big on Morgan Rogers, one of summer big signings. He start with excellent level to justify inclusion, even if £117m price still dey question. For 350 minutes of Premier League, Rogers get 3 goals from 11 shots, create 10 chances, win 21 duels, and record same number of touches inside opponent box. Xabi Alonso team look more dangerous in attack; intention, punch, and good connections between key players dey, but dem never find defensive formula. Defensive errors, spaces between lines, and how rivals waka through middle don be recurring problem, though Maxence Lacroix presence suppose help correct am with time.
Brentford no go get Nathan Collins, Sepp van den Berg, and Mathias Jensen, all out. Chelsea likely no fit start Moisés Caicedo, while João Pedro still dey doubt after he miss Brazil call-up for next week. But according to Alonso, nobody don rule out for this match. Jordan Henderson fit debut against old team, and Reece James suppose return after he miss training.
Brentford also don eliminate Birmingham and Reading to reach fourth round of Carabao Cup. Their 3-0 win over Tottenham for opening day remain their best result this season. Chelsea don show more irregular form: win four of six, but lose to Arsenal and draw at home with newly promoted Hull.
For Chelsea lineup, Alonso choose oldest average age for Chelsea Premier League starting XI in about three and a half years: 27 years and 349 days. Na highest since Arsenal match for May 2023 when e be 28 years and 278 days. Veteran English duo Danny Welbeck (35) and Jordan Henderson (36) enter modern club history as oldest English players to start a Chelsea league game since John Terry (36) against Sunderland for May 2017. Chelsea starting XI na: Martinez for goal; Fofana, Lacroix, Colwill for defence; Neto, Henderson, Barco, Chavarría for midfield; Palmer, Rogers, Welbeck for attack. Bench get Penders, Acheampong, Gusto, Hato, Lavia, Nicolas Jackson, Gittens, Estêvão and Quenda.
Attack partnership between Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers don already impress, but Rogers chosen as key player because of everything he dey add. Both teams fit score, and Bees fit get their fourth draw in five games: Brentford 2-2 Chelsea.
