The team news for the west London derby between Brentford and Chelsea in the Premier League is in.
Xabi Alonso had to make difficult Chelsea line-up decisions for Friday’s Premier League clash with Brentford.
Chelsea remain unbeaten away at Brentford in the last nine encounters (four wins, five draws) and look to extend the run. The last time the two faced each other at Gtech Community Stadium almost exactly a year ago, it ended in a 2-2 draw, in which Fabio Carvalho scored a stoppage-time equaliser for the hosts.
Only one point separates the two sides, who are occupying sixth and seventh place in the Premier League table.
There is a lot of pressure on this game, since a loss would likely mean spending the next three weeks sitting in the lower half of the table, with the international break approaching.
Chelsea remain the favourites, but they will have to hand Keith Andrews’ side their first league defeat of the season to meet expectations. Brentford are also undefeated in home London derbies (two wins, five draws) since May last year.
A couple of players are on the verge of hitting milestones with the Blues. Wesley Fofana makes his 50th Premier League start for the club, and if they get to play, Malo Gusto will make his 100th start, while Josh Acheampong could earn his 50th appearance in Chelsea blue.
Unfortunately, Chelsea are without their captain, Reece James, and leading goalscorer Joao Pedro for this match. Both sustained injuries and missed training earlier this week.
As replacements, Alonso has opted for Jordan Henderson and Valentin Barco as the central midfield pairing and Danny Welbeck as the number nine.
This is Henderson's debut for Chelsea, having missed the start of the season due to his arm injury he sustained during the World Cup.
Still, it is interesting that Alonso decided to start Henderson over Romeo Lavia, who has been a regular starter alongside James in recent weeks.
Lavia is on the bench, and so is academy star Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli. The 16-year-old has been part of the first-team plans since his inclusion in the pre-season squad for the tour in Australia and Asia. He has yet to make his official debut for the senior side, so hopefully this could be it.
Here are the confirmed teams for the west London derby.
Confirmed teams for Brentford vs Chelsea
Chelsea XI: Martinez, Fofana, Lacroix, Colwill (C), Neto, Henderson, Barco, Chavarria, Palmer, Rogers, Welbeck.
Bench: Penders, Acheampong, Gusto, Hato, Lavia, Nicoll-Jazuli, Gittens, Estevao, Quenda.
Hull XI: Kelleher, Kayode, Ajer, Schuster, Lewis-Potter, Janelt (C), Yarmoliuk, Damsgaard, Anthony, Schade, Igor Thiago.
Bench: Balcombe, Hickey, Henry, Ouatarra, Wilson, Carvalho, Sangare, Diouf, Fredrick.
