Chelsea capitalized on the few chances created in an uninspiring first half a Brentford on Friday night.
Xabi Alonso’s side were looking to make amends after a disappointing draw at home to Hull last week and enjoyed most of the possession at the Gtech Community Stadium without offering much of a threat going forward.
Pedro Neto had a ninth-minute shot past home goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher and Morgan Rogers saw a shot deflected by Bees defender Jannik Schuster five minutes before half-time.
In between, the game lacked quality with Brentford looking for their first league win since the opening day.
It took almost 37 minutes for Keith Andrews’ side to get a shot on target and when they did, Yehor Yarmoliuk’s effort resulted in a routine save from Emiliano Martinez.
Alonso would have been pleased with his side’s defensive solidity after conceding nine goals in their first four league games.
BRENTFORD TEAM NEWS
Brentford were without Joshua Dasilva, Antoni Milambo, Nathan Collins, Sepp van den Berg, Mathias Jensen and Kafe Furo.
Brentford: Kelleher; Kayode, Ajer, Schuster, Lewis-Potter; Janelt, Yarmolik, Damsgaard, Anthony, Schade; Thiago
Brentford Subs: Balcombe, Hickey, Henry, Ouattara, Wilson, Carvalho, Sangare, Diouf, Fredrick
CHELSEA TEAM NEWS
Joao Pedro and Reece James missed out through injury. Maxence Lacroix, Valentin Barco and Danny Welbeck were selected while Jordan Henderson made his first start for Chelsea against his previous club.
Malo Gusto and Romeo Lavia fell to the bench.
Chelsea: Martinez; Fofana, Lacroix, Colwill; Net, Chavarria, Henderson, Ship; Palmer, Rogers, Welbeck
Chelsea substitutes: Penders, Acheampong, Gusto, Hato, Lavia, Nicoll-Jazuli, Gittens, Estevao, Quenda
Brentford vs Chelsea: Stats, Premier League form
- These teams are the only teams to have opened the scoring in each of their four Premier League games so far this season. Overall this season, the first team to score has won 58.3% of games (21/36), which is the lowest ratio in a Premier League season.
- Only Leeds United (2.47) have a higher expected goals from set pieces (excluding penalties) than Brentford in the Premier League this season (2.34), while Chelsea have the seventh highest total against (1.57).
- Only three players have applied more high-intensity pressure in their own half in the Premier League so far this season than Brentford’s Mamadou Sangare (127), who is fourth for fouls conceded (8) and joint-fifth for tackles made (13).
- Brentford are winless in their five Premier League home games against Chelsea, with each of the last four in the final tier (L1)
- While 10 of Brentford’s last 14 Premier League games have been drawn (W2 W2), the Bees are unbeaten in their last six top-flight games (W1 D5), and only enjoy longer runs in the competition in March 2023 (12 games) and September 2023 (7).
- Having lost three of their first five Premier League games against Brentford (W1 D1), Chelsea are now unbeaten in their last five (W3 D3).
- Chelsea have won one of their last six Premier League away games (D1 L4). In 2026, only Crystal Palace (23) have conceded more goals on the road among teams currently in the division than the Blues (21).
- Their Premier League matches this season have seen more goals than any other team (19 – 10 for, 9 against); the Blues have scored and conceded at least 10 goals in their first five games of a Premier League season once before, in 2019/20 (F11 A11)
- Joao Pedro has more goal involvements than any other Premier League player this season (6 – 3 goals, 3 assists). Since the start of last season, the striker has scored and assisted in more different games than any other player in the competition (6), including in three of his four appearances this campaign.
- Danny Welbeck has scored in each of his last three Premier League games against Brentford and has never scored in four consecutive games against a specific opposition team in the competition.
Where to watch Brentford-Chelsea: TV channel, live streaming online
Kick-off on Friday is at 20:00 BST (15:00 ET / 12:00 PT), with live UK coverage on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Ultra.
road Now the televisionSky Sports costs £14.99 for a daily subscription, £27.99 a month for a 12-month subscription or £34.99 a month without a contract.
Here is the full list of International broadcasters of the Premier League.
