Chelsea return from the first international break to try to build on the decent start we’ve made to the season, sitting second after the first three rounds, unbeaten with the best defense and goal difference in the league. You might even call that start better than decent, but the schedule has been kind.
That kindness is nowhere to be found now however, on the other side of the break. Four (4) straight away games are on tap, across three (3) different competitions, in the next ten (10) days: Brentford,
Bayern (Champions League opener), Manchester United, and then Lincoln City in the League Cup.
Our excellent run of just two defeats in our last 19 in all competitions will certainly be put to the test. First up, West Londoners Brentford, much changed from last season, and not for the better, but always tricky at home.
Date / Time: Saturday, September 13, 2025, 20.00 BST; 3pm EDT; 12:30am IST (next day)
Venue: Brentford Community Stadium, Brentford, TW8
Referee: Stuart Attwell (on pitch); James Bell (VAR)
Forecast: Windy, rainy, summer’s over
On TV: Sky Sports Main Event (UK); USA (USA); none (India); SuperSport Premier League, Canal+ Sport 3 (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: Sky Go (UK); NBC Sports Live (USA); Disney+ Hotstar (India); DStv Now (NGA)
Brentford team news: After seven years and over 300 games as their manager, including solid midtable finishes in the Premier League in three of the last four seasons, Thomas Frank left Brentford (for Spurs, of all places). It was a sad day for the local chewing gum suppliers, but that was just the tip of the iceberg for the team in terms of changes this summer. Gone are the 40 goals (20 each) of Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, the starting goalkeeping of Mark Flekken, and the midfield anchoring of Christian Nørgaard as well.
Brentford have gotten here through smart recruiting of course, so the nearly £100m on the various replacements may yet prove quality business — maybe even the £40m+ spent on Dango Ouattara alone from Bournemouth, who scored on his debut last week. Other notable arrivals include quality goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher (the Carlo Cudicini to Alisson’s Petr Čech at Liverpool), promising young attacker Antoni Milambo, and veteran midfielder Jordan Henderson, back in England after a silly spell in Saudi Arabia, and a less silly spell at Ajax Amsterdam.
In the most modern-football move, Brentford promoted set piece coach Keith Andrews to take over from Frank. His first competitive game in charge was a bit disastrous, losing 3-1 to Nottingham Forest, but then they notched a quality win against Aston Villa at home and beat Bournemouth in the League Cup before suffering another bad defeat last weekend, this time 2-1 against Sunderland — all three goals scored in the final 15 minutes. Fit-again striker Igor Thiago, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, has scored in three of their four games thus far.
Defensive midfielder Vitaly Janelt, who scored 2 of his 15 total career goals against Chelsea, could feature for the first time since April. Right back Michael Kayode has also been passed fit following a brief brush with some sort of illness.
Chelsea team news: All eyes were on Cole Palmer this week, trying to decipher grainy images from the training ground to determine his status. Thankfully, he has now officially returned to training, though was not quite a full participant. Presumably, he will start only on the bench. Young Estêvão had been deputizing for Palmer; and deputizing to good effect, though we now also have deadline day arrivals Alejandro Garnacho and Facundo Buonanotte vying for minutes.
Not vying for minutes are all the injured, including Levi Colwill, Liam Delap, and Dário Essugo (long-term), and Benoît Badiashile and Roméo Lavia (just short-term now). Players returning from matches in South America, such as Moisés Caicedo, and Brazilian trio Estêvão, João Pedro, and Andrey Santos, didn’t get back until Thursday, and that’s not exactly ideal either.
Previously: We have just one win in our last six against the Bees and our last three visits to this stadium have all ended in draws.
